During the second quarter of Sunday’s Week 13 matchup between the Jaguars and Texans, Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered a brutal blow to the head as he slid on a first-down scramble.
Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair lowered his shoulder and delivered a crushing hit on the defenseless quarterback.
Lawrence immediately went into the “fencing response,” indicating a serious traumatic brain injury. After a few minutes on the EverBank Stadium turf, the 25-year-old quarterback was able to sit up. He was then carted off the field and back into the Jaguars’ locker room.
Lawrence was quickly ruled out of the game with a concussion.
On Sunday night, Lawrence shared his first public comment since the scary injury with a post on social media.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out / been praying for me. I’m home and feeling better. Means a lot, thank you all,” Lawrence wrote on X.
This hit on Lawrence resulted in an immediate brawl between the division rivals. Al-Shaair was issued an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and subsequently ejected from the game. A few other players were ejected for their respective roles in the brawl.