Jacksonville was already without two starters on the offensive line for Sunday’s Week 18 season finale against the Indianapolis Colts, and now the 2-14 Jaguars are down a third. Right guard Ben Bartch exited the game on the Jags’ opening drive with an ankle injury and had to be helped off the field. He is listed as questionable to return, according to the Jaguars PR Twitter account.
With Bartch out, fourth-year player K.C. McDermott takes over at right guard. McDermott made the first start of his NFL career last week against New England as Bartch was on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, and with Will Richardson Jr. also on the list, McDermott is likely to play the rest of the way if Bartch can’t return.
The injury marred what was an otherwise stellar opening drive for Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence completed all eight of his passes for 83 yards and found Laquon Treadwell in the end zone for a touchdown to take an early lead. That marked the first time the rookie has thrown a touchdown pass in back-to-back games since October.
The Jaguars’ offense looked good early on, but it may have to navigate the rest of the way with yet another backup playing significant reps along the offensive line.
