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Trevor Lawrence on Jaguars win over Saints: Feels good to get a win at the Superdome

profilephotocropby:Suzanne Halliburton10/20/23

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trevor lawrence saints
Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Lawrence never had a truly fun football time in the Big Easy. That all changed Thursday night when his Jaguars knocked off the Saints in the Superdome.

“I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth every time I’ve left New Orleans, so it feels good to get a win here,” Lawrence told reporters Thursday night.

Here’s why the quarterback and top pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, didn’t like his football jaunts to New Orleans. At Clemson, Lawrence dominated. He lost only two games. Both were playoffs losses in the Superdome. A defeat to LSU came in front of a rowdy crowd at the Superdome in a national title game. Then there was the semifinal loss to Ohio State in the same venue. The Buckeyes defeat was his final game wearing the Clemson uniform.

Of course, Travis Etienne, Lawrence’s teammate, also snapped a Superdome losing streak. Etienne was 0-3. Add the Clemson defeat to Alabama in the semifinals of 2017.

And to think, Trevor Lawrence wasn’t supposed to play Thursday. He sprained his knee Sunday in a 37-20 victory over the Colts. And with a short week, it didn’t seem possible that the quarterback would be healthy enough to see action.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said as much Monday, when he indicated reserve QB CJ Beathard could be the starter. That obviously changed.

Trevor Lawrence stayed on the ground after hurting his knee Sunday against the Colts. He played Thursday in a win over the Saints. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

But Lawrence got the go-ahead to play during Thursday’s warmups. Not only did he throw a touchdown pass, Lawrence ran eight times for 59 yards. With a tender knee, he still outrushed Etienne for the team lead.

See, for Trevor Lawrence, he finally had the chance to vanquish the loser ghosts and send them fleeing back to the French Quarter.

“It felt pretty good,” Lawrence said of his knee and the whole experience. “I was happy with it, and it didn’t bother me too much. Definitely didn’t set it back, so I’m really happy with it. That was the goal: Find a way to win the game and not set it back, and we’ll get 10 days now to recover and get ready for Pittsburgh.

“It went perfect, honestly, so that was really good.”

Then Trevor Lawrence received a surprise when he did post game on the Amazon Prime set.

The Jaguars played consecutive games — both wins — in London. And they have a unique fan. He’s known as Captain Duval. Now, since the captain is a Jaguar, he doesn’t speak. But he wrote a question on a poster board and held it up for Lawrence to read.

“How many times a week do you shampoo,” asked Captain Duval.

Lawrence, who is known for his incredible hair, said he now shampoos three to four times a week. It’s the stuff football fans, especially those from London, want to know.

“Used to do it every day but they tell me it’s not good, so …” But it’s now good to go to New Orleans, so there’s that.