Jacksonville Jaguars pass protection takes a big step back by allowing seven sacks to Seattle

JACKSONVILLE — If the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive line blocks well in the run game, that’s nice. A lot of good things happen to NFL offenses that can run the ball well. 

But Job One is protecting Trevor Lawrence. And that didn’t happen in a 20-12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 12 at EverBank Stadium. 

Lawrence’s world was rocked for a career-high seven sacks and he absorbed 17 quarterback hits. According to ESPN Research, Lawrence was pressured on 27 of his 50 drop-backs (54 percent) and the sacks resulted in 44 yards lost. 

According to ESPN Research, it was the most since Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City was pressured 28 times in a 2022 game by Tennessee.

It was the most sacks the Jaguars have allowed in a game since Jan. 1, 2015, at Houston, when Blake Bortles hit the ground eight times. The most times Lawrence had been sacked in one game was five, twice, in 2023 against San Francisco and 2022 against Kansas City. 

Lawrence completed 27 of 42 passes for 258 yards. 

Jaguars linemen don't duck criticism

The linemen who talked to the media in the locker room did not shy away from the fact that they did not play their best game of the season. 

“We knew it would be a physical game and a trenches game and we didn’t do a great job,” said right tackle Anton Harrison, who was also flagged for two illegal formation penalties for lining up in the backfield. “Everybody has to take a deep breath, go back to the drawing board, talk, be honest with each other, watch the film, know what we did wrong, fix it and focus on the little things.” 

Rookie Center Jonah Monheim, who was getting his first start with the injury to veteran Robert Hainsey, readily agreed that the O-Line shared the brunt of the blame for the team’s first home loss of the season. 

“We’ve got to watch the film and learn from it,” Monheim said. “Trevor is our quarterback. Trevor’s this franchise. We’ve got to be better protecting him.” 

Jaguars will face more good pass-rushing teams

Two weeks ago, the Jaguars had given up only three sacks in their first four games, tied with Denver for the fewest in the NFL. The line has now yielded 10 in the last two games. 

In fairness, Kansas City and Seattle were the two best defenses the Jaguars have faced this season. 

But other fierce pass-rushing teams are on deck, starting with the Los Angeles Rams in London on Oct. 19 (9:30 a.m., NFL Network). The Rams had four sacks in a 17-3 victory over Baltimore and are tied for fourth in the NFL with an average of 3.0 sacks per game. 

Other current teams among the top-10 in the NFL in sacks who are upcoming Jaguars opponents are Denver and Indianapolis (twice). 

Jaguars coach Liam Coen said it was a combination of facing a good defensive front and some wrinkles the Seahawks threw in. 

“We knew they were pretty good in some of their stunt games, twists and pressures early on,” he said. “... Probably, some good players on their side in beating us.” 

Trevor Lawrence took part of the blame

Coen said the Jaguars tried to scheme their way out of the mess and may have to start moving the pocket. 

“We tried to throw some screens and their D-ends are reading all the screens,” Coen said. “The only screens that were effective were the play-action halfback screens. When you're in a little bit of a drop-back game, you're trying to throw screens to balance the rush. They played those well. So credit to them. They beat us upfront.” 

Lawrence, as usual, refused to blame his linemen. 

“That part of playing quarterback in the NFL,” he said of the Seattle pass rush. “It's a tight pocket back there. Those guys on the other side of the ball get paid a lot of money to rush the passer. That's their job. You've got to play through it.” 

Lawrence also said some of the issues were on him. 

“I could have been better in the pocket with some of my movement and not moving into some pressures,” he said. “That group on defense does a good job of moving around, trying to pick our guys up front. It can make it messy at times. I've got to be able to navigate in there and make throws down the field and find guys and get the ball out of my hands when necessary and not take quite as many sacks.” 

Jaguars' run game also struggled

The Jaguars didn't run much in the second half because they were behind and gained only 59 yards on 19 attempts (3.1 per carry).

Travis Etienne was held to a season-low 27 yards on 12 carries. He caught four passes for 28 yards.

The Jags' ineffectiveness on the ground was typified by a two-point conversion attempt after the touchdown pass from Lawrence to Tim Patrick early in the fourth quarter. Seattle was penalized before the conversion snap for having 13 players on the field, giving the Jaguars a shot at two points from 1.5 yards out.

Despite having two tight ends blocking on a run to Bhayshul Tuten to the left, Seattle's Boye Mafe slid off a block by Johnny Mundt to hit Tuten first, with teammate Leonard Williams cleaning up.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars O-line struggles to protect Trevor Lawrence in loss to Seahawks