Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence described his performance Sunday as “one of the worst games” he’s ever played and “really, really bad.” The San Francisco 49ers say their defensive game plan is the reason.
Lawrence completed 58.6 percent of his passes on the day for 185 yards with no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a fumble. His 48.8 passer rating on the day was the lowest he’s recorded since his rookie season.
“The guys on the back end were disguising things. We were mixing it up,” 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead said. “Guys being sticky in coverage allowed us the extra hitch, and confusing him, and once we confused him, he was looking to scramble, and our job was to keep him in the pocket and get him down.”
“Our back end did an unreal job mixing things up and kind of confusing Trevor,” 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa added. “I think we got more [opportunities] than we’ve had all year, by far.”
The 49ers defensive line finished with five sacks, tied for the most Lawrence has ever been sacked in a game.
We got a lot of pressure up front to make his life difficult,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said. “In the back end, using our disguises and being sticky in coverage, I think that’s kind of what made it a little difficult for Lawrence.”
In his postgame press conference, Lawrence acknowledged that the 49ers had “some exotic looks” on defense, but said that the Jaguars “had some answers for it.” The quarterback said most of the issue was the hole the team dug for itself early.
“We played the whole game from behind, so it changes your whole plan at that point,” Lawrence said. “When you get into the third quarter and you’re down that much because you haven’t got anything going, we’ve had so many three-and-outs, second-and-longs, third-and-longs, you don’t get to play the game the way you want to because it’s not the same circumstances.”
The 31-point loss is the most lopsided for the Jaguars since hiring Doug Pederson before the 2022 season.
