JAGUARS QB TREVOR LAWRENCE LEAVES MONDAY NIGHT GAME WITH SPRAINED ANKLE
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence sustained a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, as per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Lawrence, who was playing in the Jaguars’ first Monday Night Football appearance since 2011, went down following a 3rd and 11 play after being stepped on by his left tackle, Walker Little, who also left the game with a hamstring injury. The third-year quarterback was helped up by wide receiver Zay Jones before falling to the ground again as the crowd at EverBank Stadium let out a huge gasp. Lawrence frustratingly banged his fist on the floor and tossed his helmet away as the medical staff rushed the field.
“I don’t have any information yet on Trevor,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson told the media after the game. “We’re still evaluating him.”
While Lawrence successfully walked off of the field, albeit with help from two trainers, it’s expected that the former Clemson Tiger will miss some time with the ankle injury. It appears that it likely won’t be a season-ending injury, which is good news for both Lawrence and the Jaguars.
Lawrence has never missed a game in his pro-career, starting 46 straight contests and was piecing together an impressive performance on Monday night on the way to what seemed like a takeover of the AFC’s no.1 seed.
At the time of his departure, the 2022 Pro Bowl quarterback was 22 of 29 for 259 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns and one score on the ground. Lawrence also registered a 125.4 passer rating, his best of the season and completed 75.9 percent of his throws, his second-best this season.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound quarterback will have an MRI on Tuesday to confirm the extent of the injury before any official verdict about his return is made.
Healing time for sprained ankles varies based on severity as Grade 1 sprains take only a couple of weeks to heal while Grade 2 sprains may take up to 6 weeks. A bad-case six-week scenario would see Lawrence return after Super Wildcard Weekend if Jacksonville wins out and secures a divisional playoff spot.
As reported by NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, the 24-year-old was seen in a walking boot and using his crutches after the game could visibly stand on his left ankle. He, however, was clearly not trying to put much pressure on it. Lawrence spoke to a few of his teammates in the locker room about his injury and a couple left him smiling, which was positive as the former no.1 overall pick seemingly in good spirits.
Lawrence was replaced by veteran quarterback CJ Beathard, who last started an NFL game in 2020 with San Francisco. Beathard spoke about Lawrence’s injury after the game and said, “The first instinct is it just sucks for Trevor. You see him on the ground hurting. That sucks. It kind of takes your breath away on the sideline, all the guys. You’ve got to drive and try to tie the game and win the game.”
The former Iowa Hawkeye orchestrated the Jaguars’ last two drives of the game and helped send the game into overtime with a 40-yard McManus field goal, after driving the Jaguars 53 yards down the field.
The Jaguars got the ball to start in OT and Beathard did a good enough job to drive the ball down the field before his team was hit with a 10-yard holding penalty on rookie right tackle Anton Harrison. Beathard had connected on a 43-yard pass with no.1 wide receiver Calvin Ridley to set up the team within the 5-yard line but the holding call pushed the team back to a 3rd down and 17 situation.
The Bengals would take over after a defensive stop and punt, and march down the field to set up a 48-yard Evan McPherson field goal for the win.
The defeat on Monday night for the Jaguars is the team’s fourth at home this season and leaves the AFC South divisional leaders 8-4 for the year. Jacksonville is 6-0 on the road or in London and just 2-4 at home, a statistic that is worrying for one of the AFC’s better teams.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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