Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence picked the worst moment to throw the first opening-quarter interception of his career. And the second. And the third.
Three of Lawrence’s first 12 passes in Satruday’s AFC wild-card matchup ended up in the hands of Chargers’ defensive players, allowing Los Angeles to jump out to an early 17-0 lead.
Lawrence, the NBC broadcast noted, had never thrown an interception in the first quarter throughout his first two NFL seasons — despite tossing 17 interceptions in 2021 and another eight this year.
The Jaguars and Lawrence, however, recovered from the disastrous start and used a last-second field goal to defeat the Chargers, 31-30. Lawrence finished 28-of-47 for 288 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the second half, to go along with his four interceptions.
But it was an ugly start for the former Clemson star quarterback.
On Lawrence’s first pass of the game, Chargers defensive lineman Joey Bosa tipped the ball at the line and Drue Tranquill collected the pass. Then, on Jacksonville’s next possession, Asante Samuel Jr. jumped in front of a pass when head coach Doug Pederson decided to go for the first down on fourth-and-7 instead of kicking a field goal.
The Chargers turned both turnovers into points, as running back Austin Ekeler scored on a 13-yard rush and Cameron Dicker added a 22-yard field goal. Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert went 7-for-12 for 63 yards through his first three drives, and Samuel intercepted another Lawrence throw with two minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
After Lawrence’s third interception, the Chargers engineered another scoring drive with 44 seconds remaining in the quarter, capped off by Ekeler’s 6-yard touchdown run. Lawrence’s performance didn’t improve in the second quarter, as he threw a fourth interception with about seven minutes remaining until halftime.
Despite the ugly start, Lawrence has made great strides in his second NFL season — and his first with Pederson as his coach. He had only thrown two interceptions since Week 8, coinciding with Jacksonville’s seven wins in nine games to close the regular season and earn a postseason berth. He added 4,113 yards and 25 touchdowns through 17 games.
Sunday was Lawrence’s first postseason start. The Jaguars, who clinched the AFC South title with a Week 18 win over the Titans, drafted Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
