Trevor Lawrence is dealing with an injury for the second time in three weeks.
The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback will enter concussion protocol after being evaluated following Jacksonville’s 23-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, head coach Doug Pederson told reporters.
Pederson believes Lawrence sustained the concussion on a play in the fourth quarter, although the Jags star QB finished out the game.
It makes an ugly result for Jacksonville, which has now lost three straight, a potentially uglier situation depending on how Lawrence progresses through the protocol.
If he is unable to go on Christmas Eve against the Buccaneers, C.J. Beathard, who has a 2-10 record as a starter, would be next up.
Beathard came on in relief of Lawrence in a previous prime-time game when Lawrence suffered a high ankle sprain during a Dec. 4 Monday night loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that began the Jags’ current losing streak. At the time of the injury, it seemed far more serious, but Lawrence did not miss any time and has yet to miss a game during his career.
Lawrence threw for 264 yards and a touchdown on 25-of-43 passing Sunday night and led the offense with 41 yards, but he made a number of costly mistakes that kept points off the board in a contest that could’ve been much closer.
The third-year QB fumbled twice, once while crossing into the red zone on a scramble despite being untouched, and again on a sack halfway through the fourth quarter with Baltimore’s lead still just two scores.
He also had a head-scratching clock-management decision at the end of the first half, going for a short pass from the Ravens’ 5-yard line with time winding down instead of spiking it. His throw found wide receiver Parker Washington, but the rookie found neither the end zone nor the sideline, which allowed time to run out.
Regardless, Lawrence remains Jacksonville’s best weapon and surest shot at clinching a second consecutive AFC South crown for the first time since the 1998-1999 seasons.
The defeat dropped Jacksonville to 8-6, tied atop the division with the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts.
