Trevor Lawrence Vs. the New Orleans Saints: The Good, the Bad, and Everything In-Between
Trevor Lawrence received an entire half of playing time, as he started at quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, in a 23-21 loss to the New Orleans Saints. After playing only two drives in the first preseason game, it was a massive increase in snaps, 34 in total. The No. 1 overall pick had moments of brilliance, plays that were questionable and times where you couldn’t help but grimace and hope for the best.
"I thought he got a little better. I thought we protected him better," Head Coach Urban Meyer said of Lawrence's performance as the game progressed.
Lawrence went 14-of-23 for 113 yards with zero touchdowns and zero turnovers. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the most game action Lawrence has seen yet.
The Good
Of the Jags first four drives, three ended in a three-and-out, with the other over in four plays. There was little to no push for the run game to get going, meaning the pass game never got a chance to open up for Lawrence. The play calling didn’t do him any favors either. Underneath plays short of the chains on third down hampered the offense. And throws that stayed within a 10-yard radius seemed to handcuff Lawrence.
For his part, Lawrence took the blame, saying after the game he needed to take the completions past the chains and that there were times he threw it away instead of taking the check down.
Head Coach Urban Meyer mentioned after the first preseason game that there are aspects of the game book he’s been told they can’t show before the regular season. That may be true. But it seemed every time the Jaguars had a positive play—and then positive drives—it came off of Lawrence taking over the offense.
Early on, the only positive play of the first four drives came on a dart from Lawrence out of his own endzone. The design brought Laviska Shenault across the middle and towards the sideline. Lawrence, off play-action, rolled to his left on a naked bootleg and dropped a dime to Shenault for 15 yards.
That was all the Jags had though, until the second quarter. On a 12-play drive, Lawrence moved the offense downfield for their first points of the game, off a 34-yard Lambo field goal. After a quick handoff to Travis Etienne (for one of his few plays on the night before suffering what Meyer called a sprain foot), Lawrence went under center for the first time on the night.
With pressure coming, he stepped up in the pocket and found Marvin Jones over the middle, throwing him open for an 18-yard gain. After two run plays went nowhere, the Jags faced another third-and-long. Lawrence dropped back, hung in the pocket as it started to collapse and then dumped off to Jones. His safety blanket turned upfield for the 13-yard gain and first down.
What happened next won’t show up in the box score because technically the play didn’t happen. But it was a moment of encouraging maturity for the rookie. Before the snap, Lawrence was trying to get Laviska Shenault in the correct spot. The receiver was in the slot and apparently too close to the line. Lawrence was waving him back, inch-by-inch. Recognizing the play clock was ticking down, Lawrence called for a timeout. It was a heads-up moment from a quarterback still learning the nuances of an offense and NFL timing.
Back on the field, with a 3rd-and-7, Lawrence again rolled to his left. He clutched for a throw until he veered to the line of scrimmage, then tucked it and ran. The nine-yard pick-up was more rushing yardage than the team had all night to that point. He took a hit to pick up an extra yard, as opposed to sliding. Coaches will teach him to slide, but while in a QB competition that refuses to end, against a guy Meyer thinks is scrappy, the competitor move will impress.
"I know what kind of competitor he is and he was gonna get that first down. Obviously you'd like to see him get down," said Meyer of the impressive run and lacking slide.
"It was third down, that's the only reason I did it," joked Lawrence. "I thought about it, there was a little pocket to slide, but yo know they mark you back from where you start your slide so I wouldn't have got the first down. So third and fourth down, you've got to go get it.
After the next three plays went nowhere, the Jags picked up the field goal.
On the next drive out, under the two-minute warning, the offense began to move with some of the tempo for which Meyer has been asking. Lawrence continued to move well in the pocket, manipulating it at times and escaping danger at others. He threw guys open, made quick decisions as plays fell apart and looked for guys further downfield.
Things fell apart once in the redzone though, which takes us to the bad.
The Bad
In the red-zone, Lawrence had back-to-back missed endzone throws. One was a throwaway and the other looked like a miscommunication between him and Shenault. The two plays came after what seemed to be a missed opportunity for the Jags. Because just before those throws, the Saints committed a defensive penalty. That stopped the clock (which would normally run under two minutes).
Instead of huddling though, the Jags rushed back to the line, pushing the tempo they’d achieved, sacrificing a play call that could’ve been thought about. That wasn’t on Lawrence so much as coaches, but one has to wonder if by speeding things up, it actually slowed them down.
"We should've scored a touchdown on one of those drives," noted Lawrence. "It's a different game if we do."
It wasn’t the only time Lawrence and Shenault suffered a miscommunication on the night. In the first quarter, looking for his receiver deep down the sideline, Lawrence threw for the inside shoulder, while Shenault looked for the ball over his outside shoulder. What could’ve been a chunk play instead fell as an incompletion.
Shenault is a first team receiver. But with Lawrence and Gardner Minshew II continuing to split first team reps in practice, there are only so many chances Lawrence and Shenault have to work on their chemistry.
Another “bad” on Lawrence’s night was the tight window throws. His accuracy and touch typically makes those a highlight of his game. Three pass break-ups though were a harsh introduction for Lawrence on just how quickly those windows close in the NFL. It’s definitely something he can fix—and he’s been excellent at correcting mistakes then not making them again—but for now is an issue.
The In-Between
It was almost ironic—in the least funny way possible—that Lawrence seemed to be running for his life at times on Monday night. In the arena, against the team, that once boasted Archie Manning; another generational quarterback, who became a punching bag and inept passer behind patchworks line that put him in danger.
One hopes that doesn’t become the case with Lawrence. He was missing three of his normal starting five offensive lineman against the Saints. Brandon Linder and Andrew Norwell were held out for injury, and left tackle Cam Robinson was sidelined with a sprained ankle. That put a rookie at left tackle in Walker Little, and second-year lineman Ben Bartch (who was drafted as a project) at left guard. Arguably the two most important positions on the line left Lawrence with little to no support all night.
Both Little and Bartch have the potential to be very good…down the road. Neither are ready, as Monday night indicated. We highlighted Lawrence’s toughness standing in the pocket, and movement as it collapsed…but that has to also take into account that he was under pressure far too often. According to ESPN Next Gen Stats, Lawrence was pressed on 42% of his drop backs against the Saints.
On one three-and-out, Lawrence moved up in the pocket as pressure was coming from his blind spot. He attempted to get the ball out in time to Marvin Jones, but his accuracy was thrown off as Little basically dropped the rusher onto Lawrence’s back.
On his last chance for a touchdown before the second half, Bartch and Little were pushed back with ease. Lawrence attempted to run for it, but with three guys coming at him from the same direction, it was an easy sack.
The return of Linder, Norwell—and for that matter Robinson, who had been pushed in camp by Little but is now looking better and better—will undoubtedly help. Running back James Robinson has developed into a dependable pass protector as well. But the Jags did little to address their line this offseason, bragging on what they had and content to roll with the same five they kept from 2020. If one injury can potentially decimate an entire side of the line, then Lawrence will be in trouble all season.
