Trevor Lawrence assumes responsibility for loss vs. Browns, Jaguars must follow suit
• He knows it, and isn't shying away from his role in the loss
• It's time he leads a turnaround
The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to the Cleveland Browns in Week 14, and Trevor Lawrence had a considerable role. While he still made a few good throws, he also made a handful of mistakes that held the team back. That's why the star quarterback doesn't have an issue holding himself accountable after the Jags' second loss in a row.
"There has to be accountability, and it's never pointing the finger," Lawrence told the local media after the loss when discussing his role as a leader. "We all have enough today to look back on and say that we didn't play well individually. Collectively, we didn't but it's also we've got to do the simple stuff. We have to do the little things, gotta be on the same page. Like I said, I'm making some mistakes out there as well, so I'm not pointing the finger at other people, there has to be accountability."
"Our guys do a good job of responding, and if it suddenly has to be said, I'll say it to them, but it's on the field, and try to do it in the most respectful way because I never want to look like I'm pointing the finger but also there's stuff that needs to be fixed. Same thing for those guys that can come up to me if I'm not doing something right," Lawrence said.
Lawrence goes on to say, that it's full circle, "Those guys understand it and that's something that we've created, where we're going to have accountability. If you're not doing your job, whether that's me, Zay, Calvin, Christian, Evan, anybody, you got to do your job and we understand that and you're not going to win if you don't."
Lawrence went 28-of-50 for 257 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. While one of his picks was the result of miscommunication with wide receiver Calvin Ridley, the other two were bad throws by him.
"We've been playing together for a while now. That's on us, so we've got to take some accountability for cleaning that up. And that stuff can't happen for both of us, we got to be on the same page, and there it seemed like all those plays that some weeks, you're able to get away with it, it doesn't bite you, today it seemed like they all did, turned into turnovers, or sacks, or bady plays or whatever," Lawrence said.
Lawrence continued, "We've got to take accountability and look in the mirror. In general, we all have to communicate better. We have to be on the same page. We have to play together and do the little things. We're overlooking some of the details, and that's where some of the stuff's going wrong."
On the bright side, Lawrence came out of the game without further injury. Having sprained his ankle on the Monday Night loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, he managed to move around without significant restriction. Following the game, he said he felt good, and noted that not getting hurt further was one of the few silver linings of the loss.
The Jaguars have enough time to right the ship and bounce back in Week 15
The Jaguars couldn't get out of their own way against the Cleveland Browns. The aforementioned lack of communication, drops, their inability to block up front, finish tackles, and overall failure to execute played a role in the loss. Following the game, Doug Pederson echoed Trevor Lawrence's comments about being held accountable during an exchange with Bucky Brooks. But he went a step further and included himself and his staff.
Pederson is right. Just like the players need to execute, offensive coordinator Press Taylor needs to do a better job of adjusting when either Christian Kirk or Zay Jones miss time. As important as both of them are to the team's success, the Jags need to be able to overcome their absence, and they've had a hard time doing so. Similarly, defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell has to make sure defenders wrap up tackles, and that his group isn't outschemed. The past two games, they've looked out of position, and that has to change moving forward.
Next on the Jaguars' schedule are the Baltimore Ravens, who are coming off a clutch win against the Los Angeles Rams. The Jags have an uphill battle and if they play like they did in Week 14, they run the risk of being embarrassed the way they did in the loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Regardless of the outcome of next week's game, they need to play sound football if they don't want their season to be derailed after a 6-2 start.
More stories from Black & Teal:
manual