The 2023 season was a disappointing one for the Jacksonville Jaguars and quarterback Trevor Lawrence. After an 8-3 start, they looked well on their way to securing a second straight AFC South title.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Injuries derailed the team in the backend of the season, including several injuries to Trevor Lawrence.
He was able to gut it out for his team, missing only one game despite different ailments. But, it was not enough to help them get over the hump as the Jaguars finished the season 9-8, missing the playoffs.
Instead, the AFC South crown went to the upstart Houston Texans . Houston shocked everyone with their performance in 2023, hitting the ground running during the DeMeco Ryans era.
The former Texans linebacker came over from the San Francisco 49ers and immediately helped turn things around. Hitting on quarterback C.J. Stroud certainly helped, as they have now filled the void left by Deshaun Watson’s departure.
In the process, the Texans have surpassed the Jaguars for supremacy in the division. In the opinion of Craig Carton, the AFC South will now run through Houston, not Jacksonville, as pressure is on Trevor Lawrence in what Carton calls a prove-it year.
“The argument can no longer be made that Trevor Lawrence is the best QB in the division — he’s not, C.J. Stroud is — or that the Jags are the best team in the division — they’re not, the Texans are,” he said during a recent segment on The Carton Show on FS1 .
It wasn’t long ago that the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence were the team on the rise in the AFC South. This just goes to show how fast things can change in the NFL, as Carton believes it took one season for the Texans to surpass them.
Stroud did have an incredible rookie season. The No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft broke several records, producing at an MVP level throughout his first year in the NFL.
To this point, that rookie campaign is a more dominant stretch than Trevor Lawrence has been able to produce. Heading into Year 4 of his career, the Jaguars need him to elevate his game to another level.
They are confident he can do that, agreeing to a massive five-year, $275 million extension this offseason. Trevor Lawrence is now tied with Joe Burrow as the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL and the Jaguars need him to start playing as such.
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