NFL talking heads just made up new term to bash Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 1-1 to start 2025 and would probably be undefeated if they had made a few more plays against the Cincinnati Bengals. Trevor Lawrence, in particular, could've played better. Then again, he wasn't the sole reason the Jags lost 31-17.

Heck, you could even make the case that Lawrence was solid if not great. But that hasn't stopped talking heads from pinning the loss on him. In fact, a handful of them have come up with a new term to pile on him.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence is suddenly throwing hospital balls

One thing that stood out in the Bengals loss was Brian Thomas Jr.'s evident lack of effort. He didn't seemingly want to avoid getting hit, and his release left much to be desired. Rightly, the sophomore wideout has been under scrutiny, but head coach Liam Coen has since stated that he was dealing with a wrist injury he hadn't previously disclosed.

Regardless of the reason for Thomas' unremarkable outing, the narrative that Trevor Lawrence throws hospital balls, passes that will leave his receivers exposed to hits, has taken off on social media. Below are a few examples:

Above is Bill Simmons talking about Thomas already having "hospital balls PTSD." It would be one thing if a random user were behind the lazy narrative, but Simmons has a huge platform. And the thing is that when a receiver runs a route in the middle of the field, he's sometimes going to get hit. That's the nature of a collision sport such as football.

Similarly, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Media has also fanned the flames of the hospital ball narrative.

The good news is that common sense is still around. NFL analyst Nathan Carroll quotes Peyton Manning when he says, "You get paid to catch the ball," noting that the passes Lawrence threw to Thomas weren't even hospital balls. Similarly, Brent Martineau of Action News for Jax pushes back against the narrative, calling it what it is: Goofy.

The Jaguars need Trevor Lawrence to play better, hospital balls or not

Those who truly watched the Bengals loss will tell you that Trevor Lawrence was inaccurate, and that's true. However, there were other reasons the Jacksonville Jaguars ultimately lost. A drop from Dyami Brown in the end zone was one. The phantom call against corner Travis Hunter in Jake Browning's winning drive also comes to mind, and so does Brian Thomas Jr.'s performance.

This begs the question, can Lawrence play better? You bet. He needs to if the Jags want to have a shot at making a playoff push. Then again, it's still early in the season, and there's a chance he'll hit his stride like he did late in 2022, the year Jacksonville seized the AFC South and made it all the way to the Divisional Round of the postseason.

Now, there's no denying that Trevor Lawrence is in the midst of a make-or-break season. That said, coming up with a lazy narrative because people don't watch him play is indeed goofy.

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