Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence breaks hex, finally wins at Superdome،
NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans hasn’t exactly been a great place for Trevor Lawrence.
The only two games he lost in his three-year career as Clemson’s starting quarterback came at Caesars Superdome, and his second preseason game as a rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 s It also ended in defeat. That’s one of the reasons he was so determined to play against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night despite a sprained left knee.
And that’s another reason why the Jaguars’ 31-24 victory — in which Lawrence connected with Christian Kirk on the game-winning touchdown pass — was so rewarding.
“I have a bad taste in my mouth every time I leave New Orleans, so it feels good to get a win here,” he said.
For Lawrence, the two College Football Playoff games he lost still sting: to LSU in the national championship game after the 2019 season and to Ohio State in a semifinal game the following season, which was the final game of his college career, leaving his record as a starter at 34-2.
Lawrence earned his first victory at the Superdome just four days after suffering a sprained left knee late in the Jaguars’ 37-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. It didn’t look like he would be able to play early in the week — coach Doug Pederson said Monday he thought Lawrence would be out — but the quarterback said his knee felt better as it progressed. as the week progressed. After moving well during a pre-match warm-up, he was cleared to play.
He said he did indeed have knee pain, but was not wearing a brace during his post-match press conference and said he finished the match well.
“It was pretty good,” Lawrence said. “I was happy with it, and it didn’t bother me too much. It certainly didn’t set me back, so I’m really happy with it. That was the goal: to find a way to win the match and not to lose it. back, and we will now have 10 days to recover and prepare for Pittsburgh.
“Honestly, it went perfectly, so it was really good.”
Lawrence threw for 204 yards and ran for a career-high 59 yards on eight carries. He was the second rusher of the game, trailing Alvin Kamara by 3 yards, which wasn’t exactly what anyone expected.
“It wasn’t planned, but instinct took over, and I’m glad it held up and I was able to feel good enough to make those plays,” Lawrence said, referring to to his knee.
Lawrence did not practice Monday and backup quarterback CJ Beathard took the majority of the first team’s reps in practice Tuesday and Wednesday, which made his performance against the Saints even more impressive, Pederson said .
“It’s a short week and on Monday I would have told you he wasn’t playing in this football game,” Pederson said. “But that’s not who Trevor is. Proud of his effort, his ability to escape the pocket [and] run. Fortunately, it was straight racing. He didn’t need to cut too much.
“But there are a lot of courageous performances out there, and his is probably No. 1.”
Lawrence wasn’t the only former Clemson player to pick up his first victory at the Superdome on Thursday night. Running back Travis Etienne Jr. – who ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns, making him the first player in franchise history to run for multiple touchdowns in three consecutive games – was 0-3 . In addition to the two games he lost while playing with Lawrence at Clemson, he also lost to Alabama in a CFP semifinal game following the 2017 season.
