Former Lions QB addresses whether Trevor Lawrence was at fault in brutal game-ending slide tackle against Texans
Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars are in the middle of an awful season. Sitting with a 2-10 record, they have been virtually eliminated from playoff contention, and the expectation around NFL circles is that Doug Pederson will be fired sooner rather than later.
Things have been disappointing in many ways, and on Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, the situation got even worse. Lawrence was the victim of a vicious hit by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who hit him after he had started his slide movement. His head hit the ground heavily, and he was declared out for the game with a concussion.
Former Detroit Lions quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky spoke about the play. Orlovsky preached the importance of a quarterback protecting himself.
"I do think it's important for quarterbacks to really take it upon themselves. And by no means, in my opinion, this [is] on Trevor Lawrence at all. I know that to be clear, the slide exposes you more to those hits," Orlovsky said. "It really needs to become an emphasis, something that coaches coach, you practice, Shannon, Stephen, when you dive you protect yourself from those hits.
"It's almost like an unathletic stumble. You want to stumble now? Open field, no one around, you slide. But if you get in close proximity, it's a dive to make sure that you're not taking those shots anymore. I do think that that's something the quarterbacks as a whole have to start doing"
Trevor Lawrence's 2024 stats: Is the Jaguars quarterback to blame for the team's struggles?
Sunday was the first time that he played in a game since early November, as he was dealing with an injury. The numbers were not impressive: Lawrence had just 40% of completed passes, no touchdown and an interception before leaving the game with a concussion.
On the season, he currently has 60.6% of completed passes, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His personal averages are roughly the same from previous years, but Jacksonville is 2-8 in the ten games he has started this season. Change is more than needed for the Jaguars after this year.