Jaguars drop preseason opener against the Browns

The first (preseason) game of the Urban Meyer Era ended in a 23-13 loss against the Cleveland Browns.

Trevor Lawrence got the starting nod for the Jaguars, who only left their starting offense in for two drives. Lawrence finished the night six for nine for 71 yards. With the starting offense on the field, however, the Jaguars didn’t score in their two drives. Gardner Minshew got some run with the first team offense as well, and finished four for eight for 47 yards, and threw an interception. The offense was never able to get going, and a large part of that is due to the offensive line. The offensive line wasn’t able to keep any of the quarterbacks protected, giving up four sacks. They also only ran the ball 14 times, for 43 yards.

However, Lawrence looked everything like the number one overall pick. He had some issues with holding onto the ball but delivered crisp passes, especially this 35-yard strike to Marvin Jones:

CJ Beathard was the second most impressive QB on the team, going 13 for 16 and throwing a touchdown pass to Tavon Austin. Jake Luton threw a TD pass to Tyler Davis to make it a 23-13 game with 26 seconds left.

On defense, the Jaguars looked stout against the run, only allowing 42 yards on 25 carries for the entire game. At one point, the Jaguars starting defense only gave up 11 yards on the ground. However, they did give up 319 yards through the air, and Kyle Lauletta threw two touchdowns on the Jaguars reserves.

Cornerbacks CJ Henderson and Tyson Campbell stood out among the group, with Henderson flashing why he was the ninth overall pick in 2020.

The Jaguars will travel to New Orleans next week to face the Saints, in what should be more extended time for the starters.