Jags could be in trouble after OT loss
Of all the disasters that have befallen the Jacksonville Jaguars' franchise in its 29-year history, they can only hope what transpired on a Monday Night Football stage against the Cincinnati Bengals doesn't end up being a season-killer.
What began as one of the most highlyanticipated events in Jaguars history — a chance to seize the top AFC playoff seed position and show a national television audience that it's a bona fide Super Bowl contender — disintegrated into a real-life nightmare.
Aside from the gut punch of the Jaguars losing 34-31 in overtime at EverBank Stadium, the specter of seeing Trevor Lawrence barely able to walk off the field even with assistance cast a pall over a frenzied crowd of 67,951.
On top of the franchise quarterback going down, throw in losing top receiver Christian Kirk to a groin injury, nickel back Tre Herndon to a concussion, left tackle Walker Little to a hamstring and defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi being sidelined by an ankle injury.
Medically speaking, that attrition was uglier than the game result because of the potential long-term implications.
Shockingly, the Jaguars were one play away in overtime from becoming the conference's No. 1 seed. Now you have to wonder if they can hang on to win the AFC South division, seeing as so many key parts of the roster will be chained to the trainer's room for who knows how long.
On a night where many in attendance were dressed in black as part of the game promotion, that very color would aptly describe the somber postgame mood of not knowing what Lawrence's status would be moving forward.
“For me, it's sad because that's my friend and I care for him,” receiver Zay Jones said of Lawrence. “Whenever you see someone go down on the field, it's not ideal, it's not what you want. But we're professionals and we have a job to do.
“Whether it's Christian [Kirk] goes down or Trevor goes down, the whole message is we still have a job to do. Now it's to help win for them.”
Stars down
The thought of the Jaguars (8-4) having to possibly go on without Lawrence and Kirk for any amount of time, especially with their toughest remaining games coming up against the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, is terribly unsettling.
As the Bengals and Browns know all too well, having lost starting quarterbacks to season-ending injuries in Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson, respectively, the Jaguars can only hold their collective breath that two of the team's most indispensable players are not lost for an inordinate amount of time.
Judging by how much Lawrence was wincing in pain after Little inadvertently stepped on his right ankle in pass protection — followed by No. 16 slamming his fist on the ground and throwing his helmet in frustration — the initial prognosis didn't look good.
At the time Lawrence dropped back to pass, the Jaguars were locked in a 28-28 tie and the 7-yard sack on third down pushed them back to the Bengals' 30. Then adding insult to a potentially catastrophic injury, kicker Brandon McManus missed a 48-yard field goal that proved to be pivotal.
While backup quarterback C.J. Beathard did a respectable job leading the Jaguars to a game-tying field goal after Cincinnati reclaimed the lead at 31-28, sending the game to overtime, the uncertainty of Lawrence's future status will surely hover over “Duuuval” in the coming days like a dark cloud.
“I don't know until I talk to the doctors, honestly,” said Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, who is expected to provide an update sometime Tuesday.
It didn't look promising in the postgame aftermath. Trevor's circumstances were serious enough to warrant owner Shad Khan, son Tony Khan and Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke coming over to his locker to check on him.
The Jaguars' power structure chatted a few seconds with Lawrence before quickly departing. The looks of concern etched on their faces as they left reflected what the rest of the team was undoubtedly feeling.
Watching Lawrence's ankle get taped up, followed by it being put in a walking boot, and then seeing him navigate the locker room with crutches in tow is not exactly a welcome sight during a December playoff run.
“Yeah, your first instinct is it just sucks for Trevor,” said Beathard.
Lawrence has never missed a start in his 46-game NFL career. Kirk last missed time during the 2020 season with the Arizona Cardinals, first early in the year for a groin injury and near the end for a positive COVID-19 test.
Given the team's lead in the AFC South is down to one game over the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars can only hope Lawrence and Kirk are fast healers.
Experience on Beathard’s side
If the Jaguars must ride part or the entire season's remaining five games with Beathard, at least it has a backup with a ton of playing experience.
Since the Bengals just snapped their three-game losing streak with secondyear quarterback Jake Browning throwing for 354 yards in his first road start, including a 76-yard touchdown to Ja'Marr Chase, it's not outlandish to think the Jaguars can win in a pinch with the 30-year-old Beathard.
While he's just 2-10 in his dozen starts with the San Francisco 49ers, none since 2020, Beathard was plenty respectable in his last game there. He lost a tight battle with the Seattle Seahawks and then quarterback Russell Wilson, 26-23, throwing for 273 yards and a touchdown with a 98.1 rating.
Under brutal circumstances against Cincinnati, he had to come in cold on the Jaguars' final drive of regulation. He managed to lead a game-tying, 53-yard drive that ended with a McManus 40yard field goal.
Beathard had the Jaguars in the red zone with 42 seconds left, but got sacked trying to scramble on back-to-back plays and he had to settle for getting his team to overtime.
“To step in there and take over for Trevor in that moment was huge for him,” Allen said of Beathard. “We have a lot of faith in him, but we're hoping to get 16. … Find out what's going on with 16, I'm not sure yet.”
Whether it's confidence in Beathard or trying to stay positive, nobody seems overly concerned about a diminished offense if Beathard has to fill in for any amount of time.