Can ugly loss be a wake up call for Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence?،
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday was ugly, embarrassing and humiliating.
There are plenty of lessons to learn for the Jaguars (6-3) after giving up a season-high 437 yards, turning the ball over four times (three by quarterback Trevor Lawrence) and scoring the fewest points since a 20-0 loss at Tennessee on December 12, 2021.
Lawrence arguably played his worst game of the season. He was sacked five times, threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and called his performance one of the worst of his career. Lawrence’s first lost fumble of the afternoon was the 18th of his career. That’s seven more than any other NFL player since 2021 (Lamar Jackson, 11).
As expected, the 49ers defense gave Lawrence problems. He went 1 for 6 with two interceptions under pressure and now has more interceptions under pressure this season (5) than all of last season (3).
The Jaguars offense as a whole managed just 221 yards, its fewest since Week 4 of last season, and failed to score a touchdown for the second time at home this season (Week 2 against Kansas City).
“I think you have to feel the pain and the embarrassment of today, and it is what it is,” Lawrence said. “We couldn’t do anything right today, but you also have to wash it out. That’s the problem, it sucks, but the reality is a 31-point loss equals a 3-point loss and we lost. today. We have to move on.”
The loss could also be seen as something else: somewhat of a good thing – in a positive way, in terms of lessons learned and eye-opening.
That’s how Jaguars players view the team’s third loss in four games at their stadium this season. They understand what that means: There’s still a way to go before the Jaguars can say they’ve joined the league’s elite teams.
“We know the type of team we are capable of being,” linebacker Foyesade Oluokun said. “I was telling the boys towards the end of fourth grade [quarter]’Thank God it happened.’
“…Not that we want this to happen, but blessings on everything and we will learn from it.”
Coach Doug Pederson wants his players to realize that as bad as Sunday was — he called it a humbling experience — the Jaguars still lead the AFC South and are playing back-to-back games against division opponents, so what happened against the 49ers can I won’t dwell beyond Monday.
If the loss snowballs, a team that looked like it could claim the AFC’s No. 1 seed could find itself fighting just to make the playoffs.
“I guess the beauty of it all is we’re still in the driver’s seat,” Pederson said. We’re 6-3 and we still have a lot of football ahead of us…
“I kept telling the team, we didn’t do anything here. We’re trying to be like [San Francisco]. We try to have this consistency [as a winner] and to me it will, in some ways, be good for our players. Honestly, it’s a bit of a wake-up call, including me. Coaches, players, we all need to think about what we are willing to give up in the next eight games to never do it again. I think our players will bounce back, they always have, and we’re looking forward to next week.”
The Jaguars host the Tennessee Titans (3-6) on Sunday, then face the Houston Texans (5-4) the following week. The Texans upset the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and will face Arizona (2-8) this weekend, so the game against the Jaguars could be for the division lead if things go south for the Jaguars against the Titans. The Texans won the first game against the Jaguars, 37-17, in Week 3.
“We can’t press the panic button. We can’t do [the 49ers loss] more than it is,” Lawrence said. “We played really bad. We laid an egg. Nothing went well. We didn’t do anything right and we need to bounce back and play better next week. We have another home game next week, so we have the opportunity to play well. So we need to empty it quickly and we will.
“The leaders of this team, we’ve talked, we’re made of good things. You have to deal with a little adversity along the way and it is what it is.”
The Jaguars did it last season, going 7-2 in the final nine games, including a five-game winning streak to end the regular season after a 40-14 loss at Detroit. They also rebounded from back-to-back losses to Kansas City and Houston in Weeks 2 and 3 to win five straight games – including two in London – heading into Sunday’s game against San Francisco.
“Our backs are against the wall, we are fighting,” Oluokun said. “That’s not the kind of football team we want to have here [vs. San Francisco]. We have to start fighting and we have to start working.
“We will be better.”
