Getty Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, is widely known as one of the loudest stadiums on game day in professional sports let alone in the NFL. But Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence doesn’t think Arrowhead will compare to TIAA Bank Field — home of the Jaguars — when Kansas City and Jacksonville square off against each other in the Divisional Round of the AFC Playoffs on January 21.
“I can’t imagine Arrowhead Stadium will be much louder than our fans were here on Saturday honestly, but that was on defense, not offense,” Lawrence said during his January 18 press conference.
TIAA Bank Field was electric during Super Wild Card Weekend due to what was happening on the field, which was a 27-point comeback from the Jaguars that ended with a game-winning field goal by kicker Riley Patterson as time expired. The win lifted Jacksonville over the Los Angeles Chargers and into the next round of the playoffs.
Riley Patterson giving all the glory to God! #Jags
That game marked the third-largest comeback in NFL postseason history and the first playoff win for the Jaguars since 2017. The win also marked the seventh victory over the last eight games for Jacksonville.
The unique circumstances that took place in that Wild Card Game led to one of the most electric atmospheres found in an NFL stadium this season. But to say Arrowhead Stadium won’t be “much” louder for the Chiefs-Jaguars game shows how few times Lawrence has actually visited the home of the Chiefs.
Mahomes Talks Lawrence’s Wild Card Performance
In the 31-30 win for Jacksonville in the Wild Card Round, Lawrence started the first half with four interceptions, which gave Los Angeles plenty of opportunities to take a massive lead. Yet, Lawrence bounced back by throwing four touchdowns, which displayed an incredible amount of mental toughness from the 2021 No. 1 overall pick.
Speaking to the media on January 18, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes gave his impressions on Lawrence’s first-ever NFL playoff performance.
“Yeah, that’s tough. When you throw three interceptions, especially in the first half of it – or four interceptions, especially if it’s in the first half – even if it’s your fault or not, that kind of can seep into your mind. ‘Man, like what decisions am I going to make going forward? Do I protect it, or do I stay aggressive?’ But he battled through,” Mahomes said.
“That’s a true test of a competitor, that whenever stuff’s not going your way, to still pull your team to find a way to win and he’s done it at every level – high school, college and now, in the NFL. He’s taking that team and they’ve turned it around fast. So, he’s a great competitor, and we understand it’ll be a great challenge. And they have a great football team that’s been playing playoff football for like over a month now. So, they understand what it takes to win, and we have to go out there and do whatever we can to win.”
Mahomes Gives Advice to Lawrence About Playoff Run
Mahomes is 8-3 in the playoffs, which means he has plenty of playoff experience. With his Divisional Round opponent having only one postseason game under his belt, Kansas City’s superstar quarterback shared his experience during his first playoff run, which can be used as advice for Lawrence.
“Yeah, probably just controlling emotions. You win a big game, your first playoff game. You can’t be satisfied. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Mahomes said. “And so, yeah, other than that, it’s just football. You have to just come back and play the next week and find a way to win that next one.”
The Chiefs-Jaguars Divisional Round playoff matchup takes place on Saturday, January 21 at 3:30 p.m. Central Time. The game will be available to watch on NBC.