CLEVELAND, Ohio — Seven weeks into the NFL season, the Jacksonville Jaguars are taking a hard look in the mirror.
Coming off their bye week, quarterback Trevor Lawrence didn’t mince words when discussing the team’s offensive performance so far – delivering the kind of brutal honesty that fans and analysts have been waiting to hear.
The franchise quarterback laid bare the team’s offensive struggles in a refreshingly candid assessment during his media availability. Lawrence acknowledged what many Jaguars supporters have been thinking: this offense simply hasn’t performed up to expectations.
“I think when you take a step back from it though and really look at it for what it is, yes, we need to improve, we need to get better and we haven’t played to our standard,” Lawrence admitted.
But what makes Lawrence’s comments particularly noteworthy isn’t just his willingness to acknowledge the problems – it’s his fierce conviction that these issues can be fixed. Unlike the doom-and-gloom narratives that often surround struggling teams, Lawrence sees a clear path forward.
“It’s very correctable things, and things that I know that we can execute and can do well,” Lawrence said. “We can be a really good offense.”
The bye week offered the Jaguars a critical opportunity to diagnose what’s gone wrong. Lawrence confirmed that the issues they identified weren’t surprises but rather recurring problems they’ve been aware of throughout the season.
“The things that we’ve talked about that we’ve known are problems, I guess that we haven’t done well, are evident that we need to improve on,” Lawrence explained.
Perhaps most telling was Lawrence’s admission that the Jaguars haven’t put together a complete performance yet – something that haunts competitive players but also provides motivation.
“We haven’t done that to this point. Haven’t played a complete game,” Lawrence acknowledged. “But feel very optimistic about where we’re heading, the direction we’re going, everyone being on the same page.”
That last point – everyone being on the same page – seems particularly significant. Lawrence mentioned the bye week provided valuable time for the offense to align their vision and create a unified approach to addressing their shortcomings.
“I think that’s a big thing, which was good for the open week to get on the same page, talk about some stuff, what we need to get better at, what we need to correct,” Lawrence said.
With the Las Vegas Raiders next on the schedule, the Jaguars now face a critical test to see if their self-scouting and recalibration will translate to improved performance on the field. Lawrence made it clear that while the entire unit needs to improve, the responsibility starts with him.
“I really feel confident, optimistic moving forward and this unit is going to really make the improvements, and obviously it starts with me,” Lawrence said.
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