Big Cat Country
Welcome to Big Cat Country’s staff roundtable!
Today, we’re previewing Week 16’s matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.
Question 1: As we asked Jaguars fans earlier this week, are you surprised by Trevor Lawrence’s recent play?
Dillon Appleman: Yes, I am surprised. Not necessarily the individual game performances themselves, but Lawrence stringing together three straight great games is something we rarely see from him. Consistency has been his biggest issue his entire career, which is why the perception of him in the football community is all over the place. This game against Denver is going to either make or break the “has he finally turned the corner?” talk.
Travis Holmes: Lawrence’s play since his 4-interception outing against the Cardinals has definitely been a surprise for me. I have been steady in my offseason thoughts that I would give the team and Lawrence the first half of the season to figure things out before passing judgment. However, even with that withheld criticism, I failed to see this level of play, this quickly, on the horizon. Nevertheless, consistency has always been the word of the year when discussing Lawrence’s play. He will still be challenged, on a week-by-week basis, to prove that he is closer to this product than he was before the bye week, when Lawrence faced tougher defensive competition. Next up, Vance Joseph and the Denver Broncos.
Gus Logue: As a longtime Lawrence backer, I’m not surprised that he’s put together a stretch of MVP-caliber play, but the timing of this stretch was certainly unexpected. The Jaguars limped into the bye week after being smacked around by the Rams and Seahawks’ pass rushes, and with Travis Hunter placed on season-ending injured reserve, the offense’s rest-of-season outlook looked grim. But everything has suddenly clicked into place. The Week 10 loss to Houston reset Jacksonville’s focus, the trade deadline acquisition of Jakobi Meyers provided a level of dependability, and the use of a wristband by Lawrence aided the pre-snap operation. At the time of the bye, I thought the Jaguars would sneak into the playoffs, not storm into it with a high-powered passing attack.
Henry Zimmer: I think it’s fair to be surprised by Trevor Lawrence’s play recently. As anyone who has watched Lawrence knows, there are plenty of rollercoaster games from him. Recently, those rollercoaster experiences have been eliminated. It’s coming at the right time but needs to be maintained for a few more weeks if the Jags are to do anything.
Question 2: What’s a matchup you’re looking forward to watching?
Dillon: Cole Van Lanen vs. Nik Bonitto. The Jags’ do-it-all sixth offensive lineman has filled in at left tackle of late and thrived in Walker Little’s absence (missed last two games with injury). In fact, he’s been so good that it may lead to him outright taking the job from the recently extended Little. That said, Van Lanen has a huge task ahead of him this week against a DPOY...
