Lamar plus five: Jaguars hold overall QB advantage when analyzing final six games

So far, the Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the more fortunate NFL teams when it comes to the quarterback position.

Not just because they have a star at the position in Trevor Lawrence, but because he also has been able to stay on the field all season.

Even after suffering a knee injury late in a Week 6 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, Lawrence was able to get out on the field just four days later for a Thursday Night Football matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

Other teams haven't been as lucky, and some of that will play into the Jaguars' favor over the final six weeks of the season.

During their stretch run, the Jaguars will face off against a variety of backups, journeymen or rookie quarterbacks. The Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans all roster QBs that fit in one of the three categories.

Over the Jaguars' final six games, the only opposing QB who started games for their team last season is Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. Jackson will be yet another challenge as Jacksonville has already faced two of the AFC's best in Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

The inexperience, changes or poor play at the position will bode well for the Jaguars, who sit at 8-3 with an opportunity to play their way into the No. 1 seed in the AFC. So far this season, Jacksonville is 3-1 against rookie QBs. They are expected to face at least two more rookies in Bryce Young (Carolina) and Will Levis (Tennessee).

Let's take a look at who the Jaguars are set to face, their career and season stats, along with a brief outlook on each player and how the Jaguars may fare.

Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals (Week 13)

Starts: One

Career stats: 27-of-41 (65.9 percent completion percentage), 295 yards, two touchdowns, one interception

Season stats (through Week 12): 27-of-41, 295 yards, two touchdowns, one interception

Outlook: Browning, originally signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2019, has been a backup in Cincinnati for three seasons. His first career start came last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The backup QB got launched into a starting role after starter Joe Burrow suffered a wrist injury that led to him being placed on the team's reserve/injured list a couple of weeks ago.

Joe Flacco OR Dorian Thompson-Robinson (R), Cleveland Browns (Week 14)

Career starts: 180 (Flacco), 3 (Thompson-Robinson)

Career stats: Flacco: 3,881-of-6299 (61.6 percent), 42,320 yards, 232 touchdowns, 147 interceptions; Thompson-Robinson: 58-of-109 (53.2 percent), 429 yards, one touchdown, four interceptions.

Season stats: Flacco: HAs not played; Thompson-Robinson: 58-of-109, 429 yards, one touchdown, four interceptions.

Outlook: Flacco was signed to the Browns practice squad last week and is already in line to start this week after head coach Kevin Stefanski named Flacco the No. 2 QB behind Thompson-Robinson. The latter is dealing with a concussion, so theoretically, Flacco would be the team's starting QB against the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday.

Whichever QB the Jaguars face that week, it will be to their advantage. Flacco has played for the Denver Broncos and the New York Jets since ending his 11-year career with the Ravens. He's started just 17 games since the 2019 season began.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (Week 15)

Career starts: 73

Career stats: 1,283-of-1989 (64.5 percent), 14,827 yards, 114 touchdowns, 43 interceptions, 839 carries, 5,011 yards, 29 rushing touchdowns

Season stats: 228-of-334 (68.3 percent), 13 touchdowns, five interceptions, 112 carries, 574 yards, five rushing touchdowns

Outlook: There's not much to say about Jackson, who is playing some of his best football this year as the Ravens currently hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC. He's an elite QB with dual-threat ability and will be the toughest challenge the Jaguars defense will have to face this year.

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 16)

Career starts: 80

Career stats: 1,632-of-2639 (61.8 percent), 18,876 yards, 119 touchdowns, 71 interceptions

Season stats: 246-of-380 (64.7 percent), 2,588 yards, 17 touchdowns, seven interceptions

Outlook: Similarly to Flacco, Mayfield has bounced around a little bit. Dissimmiarly to Flacco, Mayfield is still young (28) and has shown plenty of promise in spurts throughout the year.

Now on the path of a journeyman, Mayfield is still not playing to the level of a former No. 1 overall pick and Jacksonville ought to be able to take advantage of that. Since leaving the Browns in 2022, Mayfield has thrown 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He posses the biggest threat after Jackson among quarterbacks remaining on the Jaguars' schedule.

Bryce Young (R), Carolina Panthers (Week 17)

Career starts: 10

Career stats: 216-of-350 (61.7 percent), 1,877 yards, nine touchdowns, eight interceptions

Season stats: 216-of-350 (61.7 percent), 1,877 yards, nine touchdowns, eight interceptions

Outlook: Young, and the rest of the Panthers, have had a nightmarish season. The rookie has been sacked 43 times (fourth-most in the NFL) through just 10 games and his top pass-catchers this year are 33-year-old Adam Thielen and RB Chuba Hubbard.

Thielen has 77 receptions while Hubbard has 28. In terms of yards, the second-best player on the Panthers is receiver Jonathan Mingo with 28 receptions for 286 yards.

Will Levis (R), Tennessee Titans (Week 18)

Career starts: 5

Career stats: 91-of-152 (59.9 percent), 1,042 yards, six touchdowns, two interceptions

Season stats: 91-of-152 (59.9 percent), 1,042 yards, six touchdowns, two interceptions

Outlook: The Jaguars have already gone up against the former Kentucky grad and they fared well. In the Jaguars' 34-14 win over the Titans a couple of weeks ago, Levis mustered just 13 competitions for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82.

If you're a subscriber, thank you. If not, please consider becoming a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: QB crisis: Jaguars face Lamar Jackson, journeymen, rookies to end season