Jaguars RB Travis Etienne makes it look easy, scores vs Saints on opening drive VIDEO
• Trevor Lawrence looks good
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered a knee injury in Week 6 and his status for Thursday Night Football was in question. He ended up getting the starting nod and helped the Jacksonville Jaguars score on their opening drive, making it 7-0.
Lawrence did a good job of spreading the ball during the Jags' first possession of the game. He completed passes to tight end Evan Engram, wide receiver Christian Kirk, and running back Travis Etienne.
Even better, Lawrence showed no signs of discomfort and his knee didn't look to be an issue. He even slid on a nine-yard run to move the chains. He completed five of six attempts for 60 yards while Etienne toted the rock three times for six yards. The running back capped a 75-yard drive that lasted 10 plays with a two-yard touchdown run.
That's how you start a game, @swaggy_t1!#JAXvsNO on @nflonprime pic.twitter.com/BgzPczAnzK
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 20, 2023
Heading into the game, Lawrence's status was in question. Backup C.J. Beathard took all the first-team reps on the last day of practice and the Jags even signed third-string quarterback Nathan Rourke to their active roster as insurance. However, as Thursday progressed, Lawrence began trending toward playing. Just before the game, head coach Doug Pederson told Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media that the star quarterback was indeed playing.
Jaguars OC Press Taylor told me in pregame he felt good about Trevor Lawrence mobility especially protecting himself. We saw it Drive 1:
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) October 20, 2023
More on Lawrence + how he’s worked to keep all of his playmakers particularly Christian Kirk & Evan Engram happy from @nflnetwork @NFLGameDay: pic.twitter.com/dyFLJWqKJv
Jaguars made the right decision to go with Trevor Lawrence vs. the Saints
You could make the case that the Jaguars should have rested Lawrence but that would've been the right approach if the knee injury was bothering him. That wasn't the case. Quite the contrary, it's been just a short sample but he's shown no limitations.
The defense and the special teams are also doing their job. Although the Saints moved the ball with relative ease on their first possession, they stalled once they got to Jaguars territory. Then, kicker Blake Grupe failed a 51-yard attempt. You know the weather wasn't an issue because they're playing on the field.
The Jaguars have built an early lead. They need to keep scoring and the defense needs to create a few turnovers. If they do, they'll leave the Superdome with their fifth win of the year.
Here are other recent Jaguars stories you may also enjoy:
manual