KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Perhaps you've heard that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has a history of success when he plays a game on Saturdays.
He'll put that streak on the line this Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Lawrence's undefeated Saturday record has been the topic of much discussion throughout the week and rightly so. The facts are clear: Lawrence is 37-0 on Saturdays since high school.
Trevor Lawrence on Saturdays is like the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.
It's been such a topic Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson didn't want to hear it at all.
"La la la, next question," Pederson said, when asked about it by a local Jacksonville reporter.
Mahomes has had it differently on that day, though. He has a perfect 4-0 record on Saturdays in the NFL but compiled just a 10-17 record on Saturdays when he played at Texas Tech University.
Mahomes never played a high school game on a Saturday, while Lawrence played three times, including winning a state championship for the Cartersville Hurricanes in 2015.
The respect between one another is clear.
"(Lawrence) has taken (the Jaguars) and turned it around fast," Mahomes said. "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. That’s a true test of a competitor."
While Lawrence will look to extend his streak, the Chiefs will look to make a record better on a day where it been up and down for them. The Chiefs are 5-8 on playoff Saturdays during their history.
The 2014 loss, when the team led the Colts by 28 in the 3rd quarter was another. Then in 2019, Patrick Mahomes played, and won, his first playoff game on a Saturday against those same Colts. @KSHB41 @Chiefs #JAXvsKC pic.twitter.com/BKMpBgSepZ
— Taylor Hemness (@taylorhemness) January 20, 2023
While there have been some fun times, like Mahomes getting his first playoff victory on Saturday, there's been also a lot of bad ones: losing to the Dolphins in 1971 in the longest NFL game in history, blowing a 28 point lead to the Indianapolis Colts in 2014, blowing a 18 point lead to the Tennessee Titans in Jan. 2018 only to lose by 1 with the highlight of the game(or a lowlight for Chiefs fans) being Marcus Mariota self pass that would set off the collapse.
The Saturday streak is one of plenty of storylines in this game, which includes Pederson facing off against his mentor Andy Reid again and the Jaguars looking to avenge their earlier season loss to the Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead.
Oh yeah can't we forget about GEHA Field showing how loud it is to Trevor Lawrence after Lawrence's comments earlier this week?
You can catch the game on KSHB 41 Saturday. Join us starting at 12:30 p.m. for a streaming special, followed by our pregame show at 1:30 p.m. Then stick around for the game, on KSHB 41, at 3:30 p.m.
—
