The Jacksonville Jaguars dealt with a lot of adversity in 2024. One of their lowest points came in Week 13 when they played the Houston Texans. What was just another game quickly turned into a debacle when Azeez Al-Shaair laid out a vicious hit on quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Shaair was (rightly) ejected and later suspended for the hit, while Lawrence left the game with the concussion. It also exposed the Jags' dearth of brotherhood among players. Heck, you could make the case that the whole ordeal marked the moment their season slipped through their fingers.
Fast forward to Week 3 of the 2025 season, and Jacksonville will welcome the Texans again. And while they could use the Al-Shaair hit as a rallying cry, Lawrence isn't thinking too much about what happened last year.
Trevor Lawrence is focused on what truly matters ahead of the Jaguars vs. Texans game
You would think that Trevor Lawrence would like to get back at Azeez Al-Shaair for effectively ending his season in 2024, but that's not the case. The former Clemson Tiger met with the local press ahead of the Week 3 divisional matchup and said that he isn't dwelling on the past, noting that hits are an inherent part of football.
"It's a violent game. Obviously, it's unfortunate that happened," Lawrence said, via Alessandra Pontbriand of News4Jax. "We're passed that."
Head coach Liam Coen echoes the sentiment, noting that giving too much thought to the Al-Shaair hit isn't particularly productive.
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The Jaguars need Trevor Lawrence to focus on improving, not Azeez Al-Shaair
Trevor Lawrence is off to a somewhat slow start to the 2025 season, completing just 58.9 percent of his passes for 449 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. That's not a dreadful statline, but it isn't what you expect from a quarterback that's supposed to be playing at a high level.
Granted, Lawrence hasn't gotten much help from his pass-catches: The Jags' drop rate of 11 percent leads the league. That said, No. 16 has been inaccurate at times, so it's fair to say that he must also play better.
The good news is that Lawrence is aware of it and will be the first one to tell you that he needs to improve. And that should be his main concern. Similarly, the Jaguars will want him to play even better than he did in the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. If he does, they'll have the chance to get back in the winning column and hand the Texans their third consecutive loss of the season.