The Jacksonville Jaguars came into Sunday’s Christmas Eve matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a prime opportunity to separate themselves from the rest of the AFC South division. They weren’t able to do so, and the continued struggles of star quarterback Trevor Lawrence were a big reason why.
Both the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans lost earlier in the day, giving the Jaguars a chance to take a solo lead in their division with a victory over the Buccaneers.
Right out of the gates things got off to a terrible start for both the Jaguars as a team and Lawrence individually.
The Jaguars’ defense allowed the Buccaneers to score on their first five possessions, which was aided by two first-half interceptions from Lawrence.
Devin White looking like a DB ‼️
📺: #JAXvsTB on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UIg1XAk0MB pic.twitter.com/X2SSNMDlE7— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2023
Antoine Winfield Jr. gets the @Buccaneers' 2nd INT in as many quarters
📺: #JAXvsTB on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UIg1XAk0MB pic.twitter.com/FaLf4KBlM5— NFL (@NFL) December 24, 2023
The Jaguars found themselves facing a 20-0 deficit at the end of the first half, which ended up being a deficit that they simply couldn’t overcome.
Lawrence’s individual performance also didn’t get much better in the second half. He would only lead the Jaguars to one scoring drive in the game, a touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley that was largely insignificant in the end result of the game.
Calvin Ridley gets the Jags on the board 🔥
https://t.co/FdxzFhyAoe— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) December 24, 2023
Lawrence would end up being replaced for the fourth quarter of the game by veteran backup C.J. Beathard after suffering a shoulder injury. This is certainly concerning because Lawrence came into the game dealing with an ankle injury and a concussion in Week 15.
It has been pretty clear that Lawrence hasn’t been at 100 percent in recent weeks. And fans are quickly starting to become concerned with his recent play on the field.
I am open to the idea that Trevor Lawrence is Gen Z Sam Bradford
— Davis Mattek (@DavisMattek) December 24, 2023
Waiting for Trevor Lawrence to become generational pic.twitter.com/qQsaAZ2CD8
— NFL Memes (@NFLHateMemes) December 25, 2023
https://twitter.com/bobano/status/1739045372482158984
Trevor Lawrence now has more career INTs (37) than Mac Jones (36) 😬 pic.twitter.com/gqiGDpjayg
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) December 24, 2023
Trevor Lawrence today: pic.twitter.com/lazYd9vXfb
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) December 24, 2023
Most fans expected Lawrence to take a huge step into further establishing himself as an elite quarterback this year, his third in the NFL.
That hasn’t been the case for him, even after the team made the move to bring in star wide receiver Calvin Ridley this offseason.
You can certainly argue that his struggles this year have been due to the plethora of injuries that have plagued him throughout the year. But regardless it sure seems like fans are beginning to lose faith in him as a star-level quarterback in the league.
