Jacksonville Jaguars HC Urban Meyer: ‘It’s an us issue’

The Jacksonville Jaguars are ‘closing to winning’, have their work cut off.

The Jaguars’ offense scored just once in Week 2 and a big reason was quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The former Clemson Tiger showed flashes last week but played like a rookie against the Broncos, posting a 42 percent completion rate with one touchdown and two interceptions. You aren’t going to win many games with that kind of performance unless you have an elite defense, and even then, it’s not guaranteed.

Keep in mind that Lawrence is going to have days like Sunday. He’s still adjusting to the speed and complexity of the NFL and expecting him to play like Peyton Manning 2.0 is not reasonable.

Manning himself struggled in his rookie campaign and finished the year with more interceptions (28) than touchdowns (26). Even after the Jaguars’ 0-2 record, Lawrence remains undeterred and believes this team is close to winning.

"I think we’re close and obviously, it’s not what anybody wants to see and it’s frustrating and disappointing. But we’re going to stay together and I really feel like we’re close. We got good enough players to win these games so should I keep going to work."

Despite Lawrence’s less-than-impressive number, Meyer didn’t pin the loss on him. He described the quarterback as a very good leader and an “exceptional” talent. Moreover, he thinks the going is going to “start to slow down” for him as the season progresses.

That’s right, there’s no reason to second-guess the Jaguars’ decision to select Lawrence with the first overall pick in the 2021 draft. No process is linear and the team’s brass is well aware that the rookie quarterback is going to experience a learning curve in 2021.