Former NFL running back LeSean McCoy questions Trevor Lawrence's consistency, predicting he could be the Jaguars' downfall in crucial playoff games.
In football, the quarterback gets the most credit when his team wins and the most blame when they lose. Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence has been around long enough to understand this.
When Jacksonville started this season a mediocre 5-4, Lawrence's erratic play (10 touchdowns, seven interceptions) was thought to be a big reason.
When the Jags won their last eight games, much of it was credited to Lawrence playing like an MVP (19 touchdowns, five interceptions).
Lawrence's play over the past two months has turned plenty of skeptics into believers, but former NFL running back LeSean McCoy isn't one of them.
On his late-night podcast Speakeasy, McCoy started in again about Lawrence, one of his favorite punching bags. The former Eagles/Bills/Chiefs/Buccaneers tailback on Monday said Lawrence at times looks "really good," but seemed eager to point out bad play by the former No. 1 draft pick.
"When I speak about him, I speak about him like an inconsistent quarterback," McCoy said. "[But] now he's playing well" -- which has brought on a lot of hype about the Jags QB, which "Shady" calls "Hyper Bear." As in, "Okay, pom pom, Bear, put the pom poms on."
McCoy went as far as to say that if Jacksonville doesn't beat the Buffalo Bills in Sunday's Wild-Card game, it will likely be because of Lawrence.
The Bills don't have a great defense, according to McCoy, who seemed to be looking for any reason beyond Lawrence for what might turn out to be a Jags win over Buffalo.
"If he looks inconsistent like he [has] before, how are we not going to talk about that?" McCoy said. "I just know this -- if they have a downfall, I think it's because of him, because a lot of times when they have downfalls, they'd be his fault."
Does Shady have a point?
Inconsistency is a perfect word to describe Lawrence's career thus far.
He was the no-brainer No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, and the Jags took him. But the former Clemson star struggled as a rookie, ending the season with more interceptions (17) than touchdowns (12). No QB starting his NFL career under then-head coach Urban Meyer could be expected to play consistently at the top of his game.
After firing Meyer late in 2021, the Jags hired Super Bowl champion coach Doug Pederson to replace him, and that helped Lawrence improve dramatically in 2022.
Lawrence ended the 2022 regular season with 25 TDs, eight INTs and more than 4,000 yards passing, and the Jags went from 3-14 to the playoffs.
It looked like Lawrence was on the verge of superstardom in 2023, with the Jags winning eight of their first 11 games.
But Jacksonville imploded to finish 9-8 and missed the playoffs, and Lawrence's final stats (21 TD, 14 interceptions, with another season of 4,000-plus passing yards) reflected the team's inconsistent season.
Injuries limited Lawrence to 10 games in 2024, and in those 10 games, he was just OK, throwing 11 TDs and seven picks, which brings us to 2025, which is well-documented.
So McCoy is technically correct to say Lawrence has been inconsistent.
His claim that running back Travis Etienne Jr. is more valuable than Lawrence is tougher to understand.
Etienne has played a big part in Jacksonville's 2025 success, rushing for more than 1,000 yards.
But 10 backs in the league have rushed for more yards than Etienne, and his seven touchdowns are tied for 18th in the league.
Furthermore, Etienne is averaging 4.3 yards per carry, which ranks 30th in the NFL.
Etienne has helped the Jags as a dual-threat back, catching 36 passes for 292 yards and six touchdowns.
But some of those stats are inflated by one great game against a Jets team that finished 3-14 (three catches, 73 yards, three touchdowns).
In any case, whatever dark spell Shady casts, the Jaguars will need a team effort -- from Lawrence and Etienne and every player -- if they want to reach, then win their first Super Bowl.
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