The most consequential performance in the NFL regular season’s final week was this one:
Trevor Lawrence came up short.
The top selection of the 2021 NFL Draft didn’t make the clutch plays the better quarterbacks pull off, so the Jaguars completed their late-season collapse Sunday with a 28-20 loss to the Titans in Nashville.
Showing more QB refinement is needed, Lawrence’s so-so performance with a playoff berth on the line also shook up the AFC playoff picture.
The Jaguars (9-8) missed out on both the AFC South title and the postseason, despite starting out 8-3.
Propelled by Jacksonville’s fifth loss in six games, both the Steelers and the Bills got in.
Meantime, the Texans (10-7) accepted the AFC South title and a home playoff date.
Lawrence wasn’t the only Jags player who wasn’t quite good enough Sunday. Coach Mike Vrabel’s Titans (6-11) outplayed Jacksonville’s two lines. Tight end Evan Engram’s muff of a perfect by Lawrence led to a Titans interception, followed by a TD drive.
But Lawrence was drafted to overcome such limitations and to outperform the likes of gritty but creaky Ryan Tannehill, the Titans’ veteran backup QB.
As for coming up short: Lawrence’s lunge off a fourth-down sneak didn’t quite reach the goal-line, leaving the Jaguars down 28-20 with four minutes left.
Given another chance in the final two minutes, Lawrence overthrew open receiver Calvin Ridley on a deep “over” route.
His final sailed wide, clinching defeat.
Learning the NFL can take several years, and it’s impressive that Lawrence stands as an average NFL QB, at worst, three seasons into his career. He won’t turn 25 until a month into his fourth season.
But in a mild surprise, Texans rookie C.J. Stroud outed Lawrence — and many other QBs — in leading his team to the South title. Just 22, Stroud recorded the NFL’s lowest interception rate a 100.8 er rating that sured Lawrence’s by about 10 points. Even factoring in Lawrence’s superior rushing, Stroud had the better season among AFC South QBs. Already, he’s a top-10 er.
Where Stroud had to rebound from a concussion that sidelined him for two games, Lawrence had to cope Sunday with a sprained throwing shoulder that sidelined him in the previous game.
Hall of Fame QB Steve Young told the San Francisco Chronicle that when he played, he needed a full half to regain his timing for every game he was sidelined.
Lawrence never found a groove Sunday. The Jaguars were outscored 21-13 in the first half and scored just seven points in the second half.
This season, he went through several lulls although it was his second year under Doug Pederson, a Super Bowl-winning head coach under whom Lawrence had a breakout season that culminated in a South title and a playoff victory. The Jaguars will need to become a more phyiscal team, but they’ll likely need better ing from Lawrence next year to return to the playoffs.
Because there’s always a San Diego connection…
San Marcos High School alum Kyle Phillips made two key plays to help Tennessee hold on for the win. The second-year receiver’s third-and-5 conversion off a short from Tannehill stood out. By withstanding a hard hit from safety Rayshawn Jenkins, the 24-year-old Phillips enabled a Titans blocker to push him forward a few yards to get the first down.
