Why Trevor Lawrence’s Return Could Complicate Things for Bills, Steelers

Trevor Lawrence is returning right when the Jacksonville Jaguars need him most.

The Jaguars quarterback is officially active for Sunday’s win-or-go-home game against the Tennessee Titans, the team confirmed roughly 90 minutes before its 1 p.m. ET kickoff. A right shoulder injury kept Lawrence, who had been questionable entering the weekend, out of last week’s win over the Carolina Panthers—the first missed start in the 24-year-old’s three-year career.

But now the Pro Bowler is back, and his presence in the lineup during Week 18 could have wide-ranging playoff implications across the American Football Conference (AFC). Especially for the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Heading into the final day of the National Football League’s (NFL) regular season, the Bills (10-6), Steelers (10-7), and Jaguars (9-7) are the only three AFC teams still in playoff contention yet to clinch trips to the postseason. Only two spots, however, are still up for grabs in the conference.

Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars warms-up prior to a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee. Lawrence is officially active for Jacksonville’s win-or-go-home game.
Wesley Hitt/Getty Images/Getty Images

Lawrence playing certainly helps Jacksonville on its path toward securing one of them. The Jaguars will clinch the AFC South division title by beating the Titans (5-11). And, in that scenario, things would get complicated for Buffalo and Pittsburgh. One of those two teams will be on the postseason chopping block should Lawrence lead the Jaguars to a win.

The Steelers, who beat a Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens squad on Saturday, need either a Bills or Jaguars loss (or tie) on Sunday to reach the postseason. Buffalo, meanwhile, controls its playoff destiny against Miami in a division championship game of sorts on Sunday Night Football (SNF). The winner hoists the AFC East crown and earns the No. 2 seed in the conference’s playoff bracket. But a Jaguars win combined with a Bills loss would equal Josh Allen and company being eliminated.

However, Buffalo’s focus remains clear.

“I’m really not worried about what-ifs,” Bills center Mitch Morse said of the team’s postseason chances at a press conference earlier this week. “‘If we lose this game’ or whatnot. So just kinda going out and competing to the best of our ability, and letting the chips fall where they may, knowing that we’ve done all that we can do.”

Added Allen: “We’re focused on going there and playing our best game and not relying on anybody else, just ourselves.”

A loss to the Titans would bump the Jags out of the playoff field entirely, wrap up the division for the Houston Texans—who eliminated the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night—and clinch the final two berths in the conference for the Steelers and Bills.

Lawrence will do his best to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“If he’s good to go, he’s good to go,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson told reporters at a press conference on Friday. “I don’t want to say cautious, but he’ll just have to know that he’ll try to do anything he can to protect himself. At the same time, if he’s out there, he’s rolling, and we’ll go play.”