Trevor Lawrence risked the Jaguars' season to play hero.
Things didn't go to plan for Jacksonville, losing 28-20 to the Titans.
With Jacksonville trailing 28-20 with just over seven minutes remaining, Lawrence decided to turn a play that was supposed to be a handoff into a quarterback sneak on a crucial fourth point at the Titans' 1-yard line. .
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson told reporters he called for a handoff, but Lawrence changed it on the spot, explaining that the QB had successfully scored on “four or five” handoffs in the past. Told.
This time, however, Lawrence was stopped in front of the end zone and was unable to score on the Jags' biggest scoring opportunity for the remainder of the afternoon.
“They trust me in that,” Lawrence told reporters. “It didn't work out. I have to take responsibility for it. At the end of the day, it's on me. If I decide to do it and I don't get it — that's… One of those plays, if you do it, you better score, but I didn't. It's a shame.”
Things got even worse on the Jaguars' final drive of the game, when Lawrence couldn't connect on a deep second-and-two pass to a wide-open Calvin Ridley that would have at least put it inside Tennessee's territory.
He threw two more incomplete passes on the drive, including a fourth-and-2 pass that went over Evan Engram's head.
Lawrence threw for 280 yards, 29-of-43 passes, two touchdowns and two interceptions in his first game back from a sprained right AC joint.
This loss was a one-two punch to the Jaguars' mettle. With this loss, the Jaguars not only lost the AFC South championship, but were also eliminated from the playoffs altogether.
Jacksonville dominated the AFC South with an 8-3 record through the first 11 games of the season, giving the Texans the division title.
The Jags then dropped five of their final six games of the year.
