It’s a pivotal Week 3 matchup on Sunday between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, as the two divisional foes look to grab a much-needed win to stay in range of the top spot in the AFC South. While there’s still plenty of season left, the Indianapolis Colts currently sit at the top, and both Houston and Jacksonville could use a victory to begin closing that gap.
But there’s more to this game than just two division rivals squaring off. There’s also the underlying storyline involving Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
Last season, Lawrence scrambled and began a slide when Al-Shaair hit him in the head area after the slide had already started. The hit was ruled illegal, Lawrence suffered a concussion and was carted off, while Al-Shaair was ejected. The NFL later suspended him for three games due to violating player safety rules, citing repeat violations.
Al-Shaair apologized publicly, saying he never intended to hurt Lawrence and that it all happened quickly. Still, as this week’s game approaches, the incident has resurfaced in conversations between both fan bases, and naturally, both players were asked by their local media about their thoughts heading into Sunday.
"I mean, I've gotten all types of crazy stuff since that day, still get it, to this day, from people, just in general," Al-Shaair said recently as he recalled the incident. “I don't know if they're fans of football, or they just hate me.”
Al-Shaair is an intense player who always gives full effort and plays with physicality. While he won’t be going out on Sunday looking to hurt anyone, he’s not planning on adjusting his playstyle to be more conservative just because of what happened last season against the Jags.
“I know I'm gonna go out there and do what I've done my entire career, play as hard as I can. Anybody who got the ball in their hand, that's who I'm trying to hit, and just do my job,” Al-Shaair went on to say. “Every single week of who I am, I play hard, but I play the game the right way. So, that's just what I'm gonna keep doing.”
Lawrence was also, of course, asked about the hit this week and has seemingly moved on from it. He is looking forward to just playing the game on Sunday and not dwelling on the past.
"It's a violent game. Obviously, it's unfortunate that happened. We’re passed that,” Lawrence said this week.
As these two teams face off on Sunday, don’t be surprised if things get a little more chippy than normal. Not only is this a divisional rivalry, but this incident from last season could also increase the intensity.