Since entering the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has yet to make a trip to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers.
He gets that opportunity on Sunday as the Steelers host the Jaguars at 1 p.m. in a clash of two up-and-coming AFC teams that are trending in the right direction with Pittsburgh sitting at 4-2 and winners of two straight, and the Jaguars sitting at 5-2 and winners of four straight games.
Though Lawrence played the Pittsburgh Panthers plenty in his three years at Clemson, he never got the chance to play at then-Heinz Field. That’ll change on Sunday, which has him rather excited and looking forward to checking off the box of playing in Pittsburgh at a historic site.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday ahead of the Week Eight matchup with the Steelers, Lawrence stated he can’t wait to play in Pittsburgh and knows a little bit about the “little yellow towels” that will be waving at Acrisure Stadium.
“No, I know what they are, the little yellow towels that they swing around,” Lawrence said when asked if he was too young to know what the Terrible Towels are, according to video via the Jaguars’ team website. He’ll get a chance to find out exactly what they are up close and in person on Sunday.
So far this season, Steelers fans — outside of the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers — have shown up in full force to cheer on their team, both at home and on the road, earning praise from players and coaches.
They will create a hostile environment Sunday with a lot of Terrible Towels waving. Lawrence can’t wait.
“I’m excited. You know, it’s definitely a one to check off the list, like playing in cool stadiums, historic places, and obviously Pittsburgh…just their whole organization has like an aura around it that’s really cool,” Lawrence said, according to video via the Jaguars’ team site. “And they have some obviously great players, some great teams. You always know what kind of team Pittsburgh’s gonna have every year. Super physical, great defense, their offense is playing really well. That’s just what you’re gonna get.
“So they’re really consistent. Coach [Mike] Tomlin’s obviously done a great job there. But I’m excited. I’m excited to play over there. We’ve played in some hostile environments, Kansas City, New Orleans. I think those are up there, and this’ll be another one that’ll be a challenge and it’ll be fun to play in. It’ll be a fun atmosphere.”
Hopefully the Steelers can take Lawrence’s excitement over playing in Pittsburgh and turn it against him, creating a raucous environment where they can really get after him, rough him up, force him into some mistakes and pick up a third straight win.
This team doesn’t exactly play aesthetically pleasing football, but it fits the city overall. Hard-nosed, blue collar, battle to the very end. That’ll have the fans in the stands behind them all game long, trying to welcome Lawrence and the Jags to Pittsburgh the only way they know how: full-throated and waving those beautiful Terrible Towels.
