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Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) reacts after throwing an interception during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence shoulders blame for rough debut loss

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 9/13/21

Trevor Lawrence's NFL debut went from highly anticipated to highly questionable very quickly on Sunday as the Jaguars lost handily to the Houston Texans, 37-21.

This isn't to say there is now a longer learning curve for the first overall pick from this year's draft. Nevertheless, the Week 1 loss exposed how much work Jacksonville has to do to keep its season from rapidly running off the rails.

"We can't let this snowball. We've got to move on and go win next week," Lawrence said postgame, via ESPN.

"…There's a lot of good things there, and we've got to keep doing those and learn from the bad. We've got to watch it and learn from it, for sure, but then flip the page."

It was a rough one for Lawrence, who threw three interceptions for the first time in his entire football career, including high school ball. The rookie QB shouldered the blame for all of it.

"It's either a bad throw or a bad decision when you throw a pick," said Lawrence, who ended the day completing 28-of-51 passes for 332 yards, three touchdowns and the aforementioned three picks. "Bad decisions, those are the ones that'll get you, for sure.

"Turnovers, it's all me. You're not going to win many games with three turnovers, especially when the margin was minus-3 for us. Just not good."

Welcome to the pros, Trevor Lawrence. Vernon Hargreaves, the bringer of death, gets pick two. pic.twitter.com/cRYpG73RFH
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) September 12, 2021

Of course, the loss isn't entirely Lawrence's fault, and he isn't the only one in the spotlight taking heat for the loss. First-year coach Urban Meyer continues to be scrutinized for how he is handling the transition from college ball to the NFL. Meyer didn't just have to answer for Lawrence's performance, but also for his team getting penalized three times for illegal formation and for an offense that dropped a whopping six passes.

"It's inexcusable the things that need to be fixed," Meyer said. "Three preseason games you'd think we'd have that fixed... I would guesstimate you would not see that again. That's inexcusable."

With Sunday's defeat marking the Jags' 16th consecutive loss dating back to last season, there is even more pressure on Meyer, Lawrence and the rest of the team to turn things around.

"We've all got our ass kicked before," Meyer said. "Let's tighten up and go. I believe in (our) team. I believe in our staff. Come back to work."

Lawrence echoed that sentiment.

"I still believe in this team," he said. "I still know what we're capable of."

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