Doug Pederson leaves no doubts about Trevor Lawrence's place with the Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are still waiting for Trevor Lawrence to live up to the contract extension he signed in the offseason. Although he's been far from great, he played relatively well in the loss to the Houston Texans. That led head coach Doug Pederson to bat for his quarterback.

Pederson met with the local press one day after the loss to the Texans. With a calmer demeanor than he showed right after the game, he said that he'll put the game in Lawrence's hand because he gives them a better chance to win.

"A great example for me, with him and with any really any quarterback. We missed Christian early in the third quarter. Think it was a second play. We missed him on a deep, maybe he scores, I don't know. The easy thing would have been second-and-10, run the football. Not going to do that. I mean, yes, I will. But in this case, no," Pederson responded when asked about his quarterback's current slump. "I want Trevor. You got to put the ball in his hands, right?"

Pederson continued, "He's our guy, and you got to put the ball in his hands. And we're going to continue to trust him. I'm going to continue to do that. So the next play, we throw it again, but he was high to Gabe. So these are all lessons that he as a player has to understand. And the adversity that's going to come with, 'Oh shoot, I just missed that one, but coach might dial up another one on this play. Let me make that. You have to flush the first one to make the next one. He's seeing the field well, we're just not hitting."

"As players, those are plays we just have to make. He would stand up here and tell you the same thing, so I don't think I'm speaking out of turn, right when I say that he knows he's got to make those throws. Those are NFL big-time throws, so we just got to keep working. He does it in practice during the week. He works with those guys when special teams are going, or defense is going. And yeah, I think, the more we keep working at it, the better chances of hitting them in the future."

The day prior, Pederson threw players under the bus, noting that he nor offensive coordinator Press Taylor could go onto the football field and play. While the head coach had a point, the way he delivered his remarks felt out of place.

Sure, several players, including Lawrence, failed to execute, but Pederson didn't need to go out of his way to stand up for Taylor.

Going back to Lawrence, he got the spotlight because he overthrew a pass intended for Christian Kirk that would've been good for a massive gain if completed. The fourth-year quarterback went 12-of-21 for 157 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the loss to the Texans.

Apart from the incompletion to Kirk, Lawrence's stat line would've looked much better if his receiver had been able to reel in key passes. Gabe Davis had a pass bounced off his helmet in the red zone and tight end Luke Farrell dropped another that would've moved the chains.

For the season, Lawrence 53.37 percent of his throws for 729 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Here's the full exchange in case you want to give it a look.

Trevor Lawrence will be key for the Jaguars to bounce back in 2024

Trevor Lawrence had good protection against the Houston Texans, which is why he arguably played his best game of the season. He'd surely want to have the overthrow back but he played well. He needs to keep playing like that if the Jaguars want to have a chance of turning things around. It will also help if Doug Pederson stops calling out players publicly.

Granted, there's a certain level of pressure that comes with being a franchise quarterback. Lawrence hasn't played like one which is why he's been under scrutiny in recent weeks. It's true that they're factors outside his control that have held him back. That's where the team must do a better job of supporting him. However, the former Clemson Tiger must also work on his reads and overall progression to ensure he gets the football in his receiver's hands.

Trevor Lawrence will remain under scrutiny until he helps the Jacksonville Jaguars turn things around. For the time being, it's good to see that Doug Pederson is reaffirming his trust publicly.

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