Trevor Lawrence embraced the role of missionary to Waffle House.
The quarterback first led a remarkable comeback Saturday in Jacksonville, beating the Chargers 31-30 after the Jaguars fell behind 27-0. Then, he celebrated the playoff victory with a number of teammates who had never before dined at the venerable Southern diner chain, plus significant others.
Lawrence explained Tuesday that guard Brandon Scherff and backup quarterback E.J. Perry had never been to Waffle House. Lawrence’s wife, Marissa, did something unprecedented: she booked a reservation.
“They were like, well, if you give us a heads-up, we can clear people out of one area. We’ve got a spot saved,” the restaurant told Marissa.
About 20 people in their group showed up to revel in the victory.
“It depends,” Lawrence said of his favorite menu item. “That night, I got the Texas bacon cheesesteak with hash browns with cheese and a pecan waffle. Sometimes I get the All-Star [breakfast].”
A sharp reporter followed up, asking if he used the proper “verbiage” for the hash brown toppings.
“What is it? Smothered is cheese, is that correct? I just say cheese. But I should probably say [it right],” Lawrence laughed.
Waffle House has about 2,100 locations across 25 states. Most are concentrated south of the Mason-Dixon line, but there are some northern states with outposts including Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The restaurants are open 24/7/365, to the point where the “Waffle House Index” refers to closures being a sign that a weather emergency was particularly catastrophic.
The Jaguars are 8.5-point underdogs on the road against the top-seeded Chiefs in the NFL divisional round on Saturday afternoon.