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The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to 0-4 Thursday night, falling to the Cincinnati Bengals 24-21. “Heartbreaking” was the word used by both rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence and first-year head coach Urban Meyer to describe the night, and it’s an accurate descriptor. The Jaguars have lost two starters to injury, lost a 14-0 second-half lead and the loss is tied for the second-longest losing streak for the NFL in the Super Bowl era.
A silver lining from Thursday night was that the No.1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft put in an impressive performance. Lawrence threw for 204 yards and also ran for 36 yards and a touchdown. He showed control of the group and made some impressive down throws. He was much sharper than Joe Burrow in the first half.
During his post-game press conference, Lawrence admitted that the loss stings, but at the same time, the former Clemson star has pointed out that this Jags team is improving.
“We’ll have to regroup a bit, this one hurts,” Lawrence said. “14-0 at halftime, come back and come out on the wrong side, it’s difficult. But we’re going to bounce back, I have no doubt. I know what we’re made of, just seeing how we got it. managed the first three weeks.
“But damn. I really want to win with these guys because we worked so hard and we got into position the last two weeks really even against the Broncos, had a chance too. I just have to finish. collective is everyone. It’s not one side of the ball or anything like that. It’s just us all finishing up. We’re getting there. I’m not even going to say, “It’s gonna take time “or whatever right there, and you’ve seen it the last few weeks.”
Coach Meyer took this loss extremely hard, and it was evident in his post-match press conference. He was asked if he lost DJ Chark and AJ Cann to injury during the game, but was still able to win in the first two quarters. Meyer’s response turned into how frustrating the night had been for his team – how frustrating the whole season had been up to this point.
“It’s devastating – heartbreaking,” Meyer said. “Usually I’m not wrong on stuff like that, I just see a good team in there. I see good guys, I see good hearts, I see guys who work. And I told them that I I wasn’t wrong. I’m not wrong about that. This team is going to win games. ”
Meyer didn’t try to find excuses for what happened Thursday night. He was again asked if this loss was more frustrating given his team’s closeness to their first victory.
“It’s a heartbroken locker room,” Meyer said. “So we have to get them back, they have a few days off and are obviously getting ready for the Titans… there are some good people in that dressing room though.
“You create your own breaks and you know I said it from day one is that the core of this team is good players and I think we brought in good players and we get better every week – we get better every week. It’s just sickening that you didn’t win this stuff. But like I told you, I’m not wrong, I’m not wrong about those guys in this room . They’re going to keep swinging as hard as they possibly can. ”
The NFL turned out to be a different world for the college football legend. Meyer had an incredible 187-32 during his college head coaching career, but he’s now 0-4 as an NFL head coach. His body language and his words on Thursday night showed he was devastated by the loss. He even ignored a reporter’s question and apologized because he said his head was “spinning”. Some will take this stereotypical expression as something more, as Meyer’s coaching career has been marred by health issues. He left the University of Florida and the State of Ohio citing these health concerns. The opening of the job at USC also didn’t do the noise outside a favor, and Meyer even tried to silence the rumors a few weeks ago, claiming he was committed to the Jaguars.
Some will see Thursday night’s loss and the press conference following as another reason Meyer isn’t cut out for the NFL. But then there are others who saw that post-game press conference and left thinking Meyer really cares about this team and this job. It looks like his mere presence will continue to make headlines in the Jaguars’ organization, and that won’t change until they win. Despite the loss, the Jaguars were on the verge of clinching that first “W”. And it also deserves to be taken out from Thursday evening.
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