With the two interceptions he threw in Jacksonville’s 31-19 Sunday loss to the Cardinals, Jaguars rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence joins Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning in a very specific category. He is now the third quarterback selected first overall in a draft to throw at least two interceptions in each of his first three NFL starts. Aikman’s third game ended with six total in 1989, and Manning had eight in 1998.
Lawrence entered his third start of the season with five interceptions and also ranked 4th in highest aDoT (average depth of target) according to Pro Football Focus. So despite the interceptions, he continues to take chances downfield, which was the similar play-style to what Manning and Aikman had. The one constant in all these situations is that their head coach continued to trust them moving the ball downfield.
Aikman ended his career with 32,941 yards, 165 touchdowns and three Super Bowl appearances. Manning with 71,940 yards 539 touchdowns and getting to four Super Bowls. So, perhaps there’s reason for encouragement — in the long term, anyway.
Lawrence’s first interception of the day came from a dropped pass from newly acquired tight end Jacob Hollister.
Trevor Lawrence threw a pick that is all on the receiver. I’m sure the National media will find the nuance in this unlike with Zach Wilson. pic.twitter.com/VVcBJcWq6S
— Joe! (1.078 xTWEET) (@Yankeelibrarian) September 26, 2021
Despite Hollister making the catch he was not able to hold onto it as LB Jordan Hicks gets his hand on the ball while going to the ground. This was a fantastic heads up play by cornerback Byron Murphy, who was able to gets his hands on the ball so it doesn’t touch the ground, and just like that, Lawrence gets his first interception.
The second pick came in the third quarter when the Jaguars called a flea flicker, as their offensive line was doing a pretty good job up to this point, but instead of throwing the ball away when Lawrence felt the pressure he went back to Jacob Hollister, and to no surprise, Murphy made this play, as well
Even though this is not the best statistic, Lawrence is in good company. Manning and Aikman are both top 20 quarterbacks of all time in the NFL. Manning is probably top 5. Sometimes you must take chances to know what you are up against. Growing pains are inevitable. The Jaguars just have to hope these mistakes don’t continue long-term.