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3 reasons Jaguars can hold the fort if Trevor Lawrence misses time, 2 they won't

• C.J. Beathard could start a few games for the Jaguars

• Here are a few reasons they'll be fine, and 2 why they won't

By Carlos Sanchez

Sep 19, 2021; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) with
Sep 19, 2021; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) with / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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1. The Jaguars have a soft schedule to end the 2023 season

The Jaguars are set to face a couple of tough opponents the next two weeks. First is a resilient Cleveland Browns team that overcame key injuries to stay in the thick of the playoff race. The Baltimore Ravens will follow, and Jacksonville could drop both games.

For the sake of argument, let's say the Jags go 0-2 against the Ravens and Cleveland. They will then be 8-6 but there will be three games left in their schedule and all of them will be considerably easier. All three teams they're set to face have a losing record and two of them, the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans have already been eliminated from playoff contention. The one that is still in the race is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but the lone reason is that their division, the NFC South, is in pretty bad shape.

Now, the Jaguars have shown plenty of cracks the past few weeks. Their defense has been vulnerable. Early in the season, they were racking up takeaways. In recent weeks, they've been harder to come by, and that's exposed their inability to stop the run. That wasn't an issue when they could make stops or get the ball back. On offense, they haven't been able to get the running game going and that's put added pressure on Trevor Lawrence to perform at a high level.

But if the coaching staff can work on those issues, they should have no trouble running the table. It's unrealistic to expect the Jaguars to have a high-powered rushing attack to end the season, but they can most definitely put a bigger emphasis on running the ball, especially if Trevor Lawrence misses time.

The same is true for their tackling issues. They can make it a point of emphasis in practice the next few weeks. If they address these issues, they should have a realistic chance of winning their last three games of the season to finish 10-7. Conversely, here are two reasons why the Jaguars could miss Trevor Lawrence, and be in trouble without him.

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