When players play against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs in the previous season, it’s tempting to say that they’re looking for payback.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence doesn’t view this Sunday’s game against the Chiefs that way, however. The Jaguars lost in Kansas City 27-17 in the regular season and 27-20 in the playoffs, but Lawrence said this week that he’s not using that as fuel for this game beyond watching tape of what the Chiefs might do on the field this weekend.
“It’s a new year and we’re getting another opportunity to play these guys,” Lawrence said, via the team’s website. “We didn’t have a lot of success last year. We played them twice and didn’t win either of those games. But it’s a new year. We’ve both got different teams, it’s a new season. There’s a different set of challenges. You use that to prepare for this game for sure. You have to use the tape from the previous meeting, but you’re not carrying those emotions over. It’s a new season. We have to prepare for this game.”
Nothing that happens this weekend can change how things played out in January, so it makes sense that Lawrence and the Jaguars won’t make the past a focus for them this week. Head coach Doug Pederson did call it “a little bit of a benchmark” for this season, though, and a win would definitely bolster confidence in Jacksonville’s prospects for the rest of the season.
