Azeez Al-Shaair's cheap shot gives the Jaguars the perfect rallying cry

Following a sideline scuffle in Week 13, the heart of the Jacksonville Jaguars has come into question. And while it's never good to see players get hurt or fight, the incident had a silver lining.

Last Sunday, we saw more energy and camaraderie from the group than we may have witnessed all year, and sadly, it came at the expense of their franchise quarterback. Azeez Al-Shaair knocked Trevor Lawrence out of the game and a melee on the sidelines ensued.

A few days after the scuffle, Al-Shaair received a three-game suspension for his cheap shot on Lawrence.

That hit has been widely debated throughout the week, with some pundits like Emmanuel Acho defending it, saying it was illegal but not dirty.

On the other hand, Dan Patrick called Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans’ comments about Jacksonville players overreacting completely erroneous.

Regardless of which side of the fence you land on, there is a positive the Jags can take away from this unfortunate incident.

The silver lining that comes from the Jaguars scuffle vs. the Texans

Seeing Lawrence go down is awful and extremely sad, as so is the fact the Jacksonville Jaguars are officially eliminated from playoff contention. That said they should have a lot of fuel in them to win for their fallen comrade, should he be out as many anticipate for the season. What better way to come back than to do your talking on the field and win? It’s an easy way for Doug Pederson to motivate this group for the season’s final five games.

Three of those games are also against divisional rivals, including two versus the Tennessee Titans, so it shouldn’t be challenging to get them up for those games.

Unfortunately, a dirty play like what we saw in the Texans-Jags game happened, but if that doesn’t unify this group, then nothing will. Regardless of your thoughts on Trevor Lawrence as an NFL quarterback, he’s the face of this franchise and you are taught to fight for your star players.

The players reacted the way anyone ought to and now they have bulletin board material that they can use against the Texans. They can also use this as a cry to rally together for the remainder of the campaign.

Lawrence’s inconsistent play as an NFL pivot has been evident, but it’s clear from the team’s reaction and comments that his teammates love him.

In the heat of the moment, teams cannot lose focus and self-destruct with unnecessary penalties. That said, they can manifest that anger into playing tougher and more together, which we’ve seen repeatedly can produce victories.

The playoffs are no longer possible but there’s still time for these players to save their jobs and prove they belong with this team next season.

In 2020, the Jags perfected the motto of “Tank for Trevor”, a hashtag on X during the tail end of that season. Between now and the end of the 2024 campaign, the Jags motto should be “Win for Trevor.”