Jacksonville Jaguars: How Did Trevor Lawrence Perform In Week 1?

How did Trevor Lawrence look in his regular season debut with the Jacksonville Jaguars? The film, and the chart, should have fans relaxing.

It wasn’t an auspicious start for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, as they went into Houston with many believing Houston was due for a 2-win season or worse. It’s an understatement to say they got punched in the mouth, and left Houston with a sour taste, falling 37-21. In the highly anticipated debut of Trevor Lawrence, fans probably left a little worried after a three-interception performance. However, the film and the chart should have fans more relaxed.

From first impressions, the chart can look bad. Trevor Lawrence completed only 8/19 from 0-10 yards and of course the three interceptions don’t look good. However, Lawrence did complete two of three over 20 yards, one of which was a dart to D.J. Chark for a score. On his third touchdown, a completion over the middle to Marvin Jones, Lawrence did a great job holding the linebacker with his eyes to make sure the space would be vacated for his throw.

As far as the short area of the field, there are two things to note on film. One of those, which was prevalent in live viewing, was the drops. Six drops found their way onto the chart, and an argument could be made for two more, one of which was slightly behind Chark and another that was high but perhaps within reach. Four of the six (and perhaps five of seven) were in that short area, and giving the one to Chark in question as a well-placed ball, that brings it to 13/19 on target.

Something else to monitor from Sunday were the miscommunications. On the drive that ended with Lawrence’s third interception, there were two miscommunications in a row, with a throw that looked well off-target more the result of a quarterback developing with his skill position players and gelling in the scheme itself. His third pick was an odd one, with Laviska Shenault in the area but way deeper of where Lawrence threw it. It’s hard to know without context from everyone involved, but that seemed like another instance of communication issues for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Lawrence still does have things to clean up on his end. His second interception was one he’d like to have back, as the throw was undercut and a bit late, resulting in a poor decision. His accuracy issues deeper down the field are still prevalent, and he missed high on a few occasions Sunday, including on the move, which resulted in his first pick.

All things considered though, Trevor Lawrence played just fine in his first real action with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He looked poised, for the most part accurate, and has the velocity to challenge windows short and deep down the field. He hit on a couple wow throws, and shows why his ceiling is sky high. Jaguars fans should exercise patience, as he looks to work out some kinks, which is expected for rookie quarterbacks, even the ones from the absurdly talented 2021 class.