Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence left Monday Night Football in the fourth quarter of Jacksonville's overtime loss to the Bengals. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Lawrence suffered an ankle sprain and will have an MRI on Tuesday.
The game was tied 28-28 with 5 minutes left when Lawrence's right ankle was stepped on by Jaguars offensive tackle Walker Little, who was being pressured by Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, then he bent backward awkwardly.
The Jaguars fell to 8-4 with the loss and now lead the Texans and Colts (both 7-5) by only one game in the AFC South.
The win for Cincinnati was the second-biggest upset of the NFL season, according to Action Network's Evan Abrams. The Bengals closed as 10-point underdogs. Abrams noted that double-digit favorites entered this game 15-1 straight-up (SU) this season, while double-digit underdogs at night were 3-26 SU over the last four seasons.
Jacksonville entered Monday Night Football as an overwhelming favorite to win the AFC South. At bet365, the Jags were -800 to win the division, with the Texans listed at +800 and Colts listed at +1200. A win over the Bengals would have moved the Jaguars into a tie for the No. 1 seed in the AFC at 9-3.
C.J. Beathard took over for Lawrence at QB.
To add insult to injury, Jags kicker Brandon McManus missed a 48-yard field goal attempt on the play after Lawrence's exit. The Bengals went down the field and took a three-point lead on an Evan McPherson field goal on the next drive. McManus redeemed himself with a field goal to tie the game with 26 seconds left to send the game to overtime, but McPherson hit another field goal in overtime to seal the win for Cincinnati.
Lawrence's injury was the second blow of the night to the Jaguars offense. Wide receiver Christian Kirk also left the game in the first half with a groin injury.
Trevor Lawrence Injury Impact
According to Action Network's Predictive Analytics team, the dip from Lawrence to Beathard is worth 4.5 points to the point spread. Our Billy Ward noted that Lawrence's potential absence would mean more to game totals instead of Jaguars team totals, depending on the matchup, because other teams wouldn't be pushing to keep up with Jacksonville's offense as much.
Our Brandon Anderson said that if Lawrence misses time, the drop from him to Beathard downgrades the Jaguars from the No. 14 to 27 offense in the NFL and from No. 11 overall to 17.
Anderson added this about the impact Lawrence's absence would have on the AFC playoff race:
A big winner of Lawrence potentially missing time is the Ravens. Baltimore is 9-3 and tied for the best record in the AFC.
Importantly, the Jaguars and Ravens face off in Baltimore in Week 15. That could still prove to be a crucial game in the race for home-field advantage in the AFC. Lawrence missing that game obviously would be a big blow for Jacksonville.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
