The Jacksonville Jaguars relayed some unfortunate injury news on Friday once they dominated out beginning quarterback Trevor Lawrence for Sunday’s recreation towards the Carolina Panthers.
It will likely be the primary recreation in Lawrence’s three-year profession that he’ll miss, and it comes after a sequence of accidents that lastly compelled him out of the lineup. The transfer can be going to place their possibilities at holding onto the AFC South in jeopardy.
Whereas it’s the shoulder harm that Lawrence suffered every week in the past towards Tampa Bay that’s sidelining him this week, he has been coping with an ankle harm as nicely and was in concussion protocol over the previous month.
C.J. Beathard will get the beginning in his absence.
It is problematic for Jacksonville for apparent causes as they aren’t able to be with out its franchise quarterback. Nonetheless, even with Lawrence within the lineup, the Jaguars have slowly been fading from the playoff race over the previous two months and are simply 2-5 since their bye week. Their present four-game dropping streak has seen them flip what seemed to be an insurmountable lead within the division right into a three-way tie with the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans.
Swiftly the Jaguars went from seeking to be a lock for a house playoff recreation and maybe a contender for the No. 1 seed, to maybe now not making the playoffs.
It’s a full 180 from what the Jaguars did a 12 months in the past once they overcame a horrible first half of the season to get sizzling within the second half, win the division, and advance to the divisional spherical of the AFC playoffs.
On one hand, it could be straightforward to suppose the Jaguars can be superb this week towards a two-win Panthers crew even with out Lawrence. However nothing is given within the NFL, and a backup quarterback state of affairs might flip any recreation right into a coin toss. Given the Jaguars’ remaining schedule (Carolina and Tennessee) there isn’t any excuse for them to not be capable of safe two wins and maintain onto the division — particularly when one in every of Indianapolis and Houston is more likely to lose at the very least one recreation given their head-to-head Week 18 assembly. If Jacksonville does lose the division, the 2023 season could be a large failure and disappointment given the expectations that surrounded the franchise getting into this season.
Final 12 months’s division title and playoff win, mixed with the addition of extensive receiver Calvin Ridley, made the Jaguars a straightforward choose to win the AFC South and probably contend for a Tremendous Bowl bid.
Even when Jacksonville can by some means survive with out Lawrence, they don’t resemble a playoff contender proper now. They have to determine it out — and quick.