Jaguars loss to Chiefs overshadows Trevor Lawrence’s growth

One overlooked aspect of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs is that Trevor Lawrence had a productive outing for the second week in a row. While it may be still a bit early to anoint him as a franchise quarterback, he’s certainly trending in that direction.

Although Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports doesn’t think Lawrence’s performance vs. the Chiefs wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, he still gave him a positive grade for it.

"In a game that was never really competitive, Lawrence fared well. He was sacked a few times and had some passes batted at the line, but the misses were minimal and he flashed the big-time arm talent on some throws. Not a spectacular effort by any stretch tough."

Lawrence completed 72.50 percent of his passes for 259 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His Pro Football Focus overall grade of 83.1 was the second-highest among Jaguars players in Week 10. Moreover, he would have finished the game with another touchdown pass if it wasn’t for a penalty that nullified it.

Even though Lawrence has made mistakes that have cost the Jags a few games, all his numbers across the board have improved. In fact, former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer and Hall-of-Fame coach Tony Dungy believe it’s a matter of time before he becomes one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence continues to grow in 2022

The thing about progress is that it takes time and sometimes isn’t noticeable, which isn’t ideal in the NFL. Most clubs aren’t willing to wait and want immediate results. Then again, do you blame them? Their window of opportunity to win is frequently short and they can’t afford to wait for players to develop most of the time.

Having said that, players that are picked early in the draft or get big contracts in free agency are afforded a little more time. By virtue of having been the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Player Selection Meeting, Lawrence will have at least until next year to prove he’s the Jaguars’ long-term answer at quarterback, and so far, he’s shown enough to make you think he might be.

All of Lawrence’s interceptions this year have come in the red zone or with the game on the line. He’s also lacked consistency for most of the year. On the other hand, he’s coming off a solid two-game stretch and has often put the offense in a position to score. Head coach Doug Pederson met with the local media Monday and credited the sophomore quarterback for the work he’s put in this season.

“Trevor’s Trevor, Pederson said. “He just kind of handles his business the way he does and prepares the same, studies the same, and what you’re seeing is learning from mistakes that were made previously in the season, opportunities that we missed and he’s just capitalizing on that”.

“He’s a good player that’s taking correction and coaching, understanding what we’re asking him to do, just being betters as a player,” Pederson said.

There are seven games left in the Jaguars’ schedule and they would surely love to go into the offseason knowing they have a starting quarterback in place for years to come. It’s up to Lawrence to seize the opportunity he’s being given.