Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said he needs to learn the art of minimizing bad plays

Missing open receivers running free underneath a generous Cover Two defense.

Failing to tuck the ball in and run for an obvious first down or perhaps a touchdown late in the game.

Forcing deep balls.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence made some serious mistakes on Sunday in a 13-6 loss to the Houston Texans at TIAA Bank Field.

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Compounded with his five-turnover game the week before in a 29-21 loss at Philadelphia, Lawrence has muted the chatter last month that he's playing a level of ball worthy of the "generational talent" label pinned on him since he led Clemson to the 2018 national championship as a freshman.

Right now, the Jaguars coaching staff may be unsure of which quarterback will show up: the Trevor Lawrence who threw for 497 yards, five touchdowns, completed 76.8% of his passes, had a 120.26 passer rating and had no turnovers and no sacks in putting 62 points on the board in beating Indianapolis and the L.A. Chargers; or the Trevor Lawrence who accounted for 460 yards with two TD passes, three interceptions, four sacks, a 51.4 completion percentage and a 63.99 passer rating in scoring 20 offensive points in the last two losses.

Lawrence admitted Wednesday after the Jaguars (2-3) split their practice time between the indoor flex field and TIAA Bank Field that it's an ongoing process between trying to make the big (and risky) play or execute a lot of little ones that add up to a victory.

"Just don't make a bad play worse," he said of his goal moving forward, with the next step coming on Sunday at Indianapolis (1 p.m., CBS) to face the Colts (2-2-1) for the second time in five weeks. "If we don't get the look we necessarily thought we were going to have or the first couple of guys aren't open ... throw the ball away, scramble for no gain or a yard or two and move on to the next play. Begin a great player is making all the routine plays, even the great plays, but it's also about how do I minimize the bad plays."

Maybe seeing horseshoe helmets will help light a spark under Lawrence on Sunday. In his last two games against the Colts, Lawrence has thrown for 458 yards, completed 77.4% of his passes, had four TD passes, no turnovers and a passer rating of 118.88.

He was 25 of 30 for 235 yards and two touchdowns in the first game against the Colts.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said on Wednesday that he'd like a steadier performance — such as the first game this season against the Colts when Lawrence patiently took the underneath routes that were open — than his second-year quarterback trying to be a hero.

"I want him to understand that he doesn't have to do it himself," Pederson said. "There are 10 other guys out there and the coaches to put him in a better position to be successful. Really, with the whole team, building that consistency week in and week out, showing that one percent improvement every day, every week and building off of that."

Pederson is big on accountability but said it's not making excuses for Lawrence to understand that he's still only played 22 NFL games, the first 17 amid the turmoil last season under Urban Meyer.

“It’s really hard for me to go back and get in the minds of the coaches that were here," Pederson said, carefully avoiding any criticism of the Meyer regime. "I just know that Trevor’s young, he’s learning this game. I keep going back to this: new coaching staff and coordinator last year when you came out of college ... then again, this year. When you have that kind of turnover, you’re learning a new language every single year. It’s hard to get consistency, and that’s what we’re trying to get to."

Lawrence said he's expecting some surprises from the Colts' defense he and the Jaguars receivers lit up in week two in a 24-0 victory, especially with the Colts coming off a 10-day break (their last game was a 12-9 overtime victory at Denver).

"Obviously they're going to be well-rested ... you've got to adjust when the game starts to see if they do anything different," he said. "It will be interesting to see what the new wrinkles if there are any, and we'll just have to adjust as the game goes on."

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Trevor Lawrence needs to minimize bad plays for Jaguars to get back on track