Urban Meyer said he and staff discussed benching Trevor Lawrence during loss to Tennessee

It’s not that there’s a viable option at quarterback behind rookie Trevor Lawrence for the Jaguars. Backup C.J. Beathard has been exactly that for his four-year NFL career and has appeared briefly in only two games this season, both times when Lawrence left with what turned out to be minor injuries. 

© Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is sacked by Tennessee’s Harold Landry III during Sunday’s 20-0 loss to the Titans in Nashville.

But did coach Urban Meyer consider pulling Lawrence during Sunday’s 20-0 loss to the Tennessee Titans, in which he threw four interceptions and was sacked three times?

After all, no one would blame Lawrence for being shell-shocked at that point — or for the coaching staff in wanting to give him a break.

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”There was some conversation about what would be best for Trevor at this point,” Meyer said during his news conference on Monday. “And I obviously relied on [offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and quarterback coach Brian Schottenheimer], get their opinions. “We thought, all three of us, that it would be best to let [Lawrence] finish.”

Lawrence completed 24 of 40 passes for 221 yards, after going 10 of 12 for 93 yards in a decent first half. He had gone five games with only one interception but has been sacked 12 times in the last five games and has one touchdown pass in the last six.

With only four games remaining in a season going nowhere except another possible top-three draft pick (beginning on Sunday at home against Houston in a battle of 2-11 teams), is Meyer giving any thought to shutting Lawrence down at any point and not risking injury to the team’s future at quarterback?

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I’ll go have that chat. I think this is a learning experience for Trevor. We need to go win a game and if we believe Trevor is our best chance to win a game he’s going to be our quarterback.”

© Steve Roberts, Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports Jaguars running back James Robinson looks for room against Tennessee on Sunday. He had only 4 yards on six carries in the 20-0 loss.

Jags gave up on run?

The Jaguars ran the ball only eight times for a franchise single-game low of 8 yards against the Titans, with James Robinson getting only 4 yards on six carries.

The Jags were within 10 points until late in the third quarter and Lawrence was being harassed into a career-high four interceptions. The question was, did Bevell give up on the run too early, with only three running plays called in the second half.

Meyer agreed that there might be something to that.

“I would say we probably did [stop running too early],” he said. “What happens, you get down a little bit you get frustrated and you're a play-caller you get stuck in second-and-14, second-and-10 … we have to establish the run.”

Since the Titans didn’t go up by more than two scores until 2:51 left in the third quarter, could the Jaguars could have still run the ball without a strong sense or urgency from a clock standpoint?

”Sure,” Meyer said, without further elaboration.

Meyer said the issues of running the ball the last two games (the Jags have 69 yards combined in the last two games) come down to the line of scrimmage.

”We’re not moving people,” Meyer said. “And right now that's an issue. That's the biggest issue.”

Urban Meyer not changing play-calling

Meyer said he is not contemplating changing the system of Bevell called the plays in consultation with Schottenheimer.

“I though about how best to support our play-callers,” he said. “To support my job is to support the play-callers on both sides of the ball. If I don’t think it I thought it would help us win a game I wouldn’t do it. So now my job is to find a way to get some offensive production against Houston.”

Carlos Hyde in concussion protocol

Robinson’s backup, Carlos Hyde, is in the team’s concussion protocol after taking a hit in Sunday’s game. If he can’t play, Dare Ogunbowale will be Robinson’s backup. … Meyer said the almost comical incident during the game when Laviska Shenault and Laquon Treadwell nearly ran into each other running routes was the result of a missed assignment. Meyer didn’t say which player was the culprit. … Meyer said he talked with offensive line coach George Warhop about pulling veteran guard Andrew Norwell, who had three holding penalties. “I asked George, ‘do we need to make a change there … is he hurt, is he healthy,’ because normally he’s a good player.” Norwell now has nine penalties this season, including five holds, to take the team lead.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Urban Meyer said he and staff discussed benching Trevor Lawrence during loss to Tennessee