Trevor Lawrence threw 4 brutal INTs to start his NFL playoff career ... in the first half

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered their AFC Wild Card Game against the Los Angeles Chargers, riding a wave of success. Jacksonville, led by Trevor Lawrence and a playmaking defense, hadn’t lost a game since the first Sunday of December. Come the postseason, with “Golden Boy” Lawrence making his playoff debut, the Jaguars looked like a real force to be reckoned with.

That is, until Lawrence actually had to play against the Chargers’ defense. The Jaguars had three first-quarter possessions on Saturday night. And on each of them, Lawrence threw a brutal pick as L.A. capitalized by amassing a 17-0 lead. Through 15 minutes of play, the young QB had the same number of completions (3) as completions through one quarter. (Hey, not everyone can be Brock Purdy.)

You probably couldn’t imagine a worse start to a postseason career for a young star like Lawrence.

By the time the Jaguars could even catch their breath, they were down 27-0 after Lawrence had thrown a fourth pick (!) halfway through the second quarter, three to Asante Samuel Jr. That put Lawrence in the dubious company of some of the worst NFL playoff debuts ever for a quarterback:

Players since 1991 to turn it over 4 times in 1st half of playoff game:
Trevor Lawrence tonight vs Chargers
Brian Hoyer 1/9/2016 vs Chiefs
Dan Marino 1/15/2000 vs Jaguars

— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) January 15, 2023

Also, at one point, Samuel Jr. had as many catches (3) from Lawrence as his actual receivers (3). You read that right, don’t worry:

Asante Samuel Jr. has more catches from Trevor Lawrence than any Jaguars player.

— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) January 15, 2023

What was supposed to be a promising return to the postseason for a young Jaguars team on the rise instead turned into an outright nightmare for the face of their franchise.