Sports columnist Gene Frenette writes: You almost knew another grim ending was in the works. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the Jaguars are playing on U.S. soil or 4,259 miles across the Atlantic, nothing seems to change for Team Torture.
Get in position to win during a game’s homestretch, be one play away from a happy outcome, and — over and over again — keep failing in the game-deciding moments.
About the only suspense near closing time was wondering how the knife would be stuck in Doug Pederson’s team this week. After Denver inflicted the latest maddening 21-17 defeat on the Jaguars — a franchise-record fifth consecutive one-score loss — the exasperated coach was left trying to grasp for a whiff of optimism.
“It’s tough. Same thing that I’ve said every week when I stand up here,” said a disgruntled Lawrence at the postgame podium. “Obviously, I’m pretty upset and frustrated and disappointed in myself and the way I finished the game.” Just beyond the goal line, safety Justin Simmons jumped up to snare the ball, sparing Denver a 14-0 deficit at a time when its offense had yet to make a first down.
“No, because it’s first-and-goal,” said Pederson. “It’s a relatively safe play. If it’s not there — and Trevor knows this — just throw the ball, just sail the ball, and you’ve got two, three more downs to do whatever you want to do there. Instead of throwing an interception on the first play of what proved to be his 35th career game-winning drive, Wilson connected on a 47-yard bomb down the right sideline to KJ Hamler, who had a step on Tre Herndon.
Here’s how the always-accountable Lawrence assessed that last ill-fated drive: “That’s tough, being a quarterback, having an opportunity to go win the game and you don’t get it done. That’s really disappointing and frustrating. I got to look in the mirror. I got to play better.”