Cole Pepper
It’s just the second week of the NFL season, but Sunday’s game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns seems particularly important for both teams (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
The Jaguars dropped the season opener to the Miami Dolphins 20-17 on a field goal as time expired. The Browns, meanwhile, were throttled by the Dallas Cowboys 33-17.
Both teams expect to contend for a playoff spot this season, but one of them will start the season 0-2.
The Jaguars never trailed until the final gun on Sunday. The second half collapse included a fumble inside the five-yard line, failed back-to-back plays on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1, and only seven pass attempts in the second half.
“I think honestly, there’s a couple of plays I want back from the game. I thought overall I did the right thing with the ball,” said Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence. “I was accurate. There were some things I liked that I did and that we did as an offense, but there are probably two plays that stick out to me.”
Lawrence referenced a first-half third-down play that nearly led to an interception and a fourth-quarter sack that he said was his fault. While Lawrence failed to deliver big plays late in the game, the Jaguars’ issues were more plentiful than the quarterback.
“Offensively we didn’t take care of the ball very well in that football game,” said Jaguars’ head coach Doug Pederson. “We turned it over too many times and obviously, it still came down to a one-score game. There’s some positives to take away from it, but I think the biggest takeaway too for us is just we had to protect the football, which again we didn’t do on Sunday.”
After the Jaguars face the Browns, they travel to Buffalo to face the Bills on Monday Night Football, then go on the road the following week to face the Houston Texans. If the Jaguars do not bounce back from the season-opening loss and beat the Browns, it could be a long month of September.
One of the biggest bright spots for the Jaguars in the opener was the play of rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. The first-round pick set up a touchdown by drawing a pass interference call on Jalen Ramsey in the first quarter, then caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter.
He was not targeted in the second half.
Cleveland, who made the playoffs as a wild card team last season, was dominated by the Dallas defense in the opener. Browns’ quarterback DeShaun Watson was intercepted twice and sacked six times. Cleveland managed only 230 yards, just 54 in the first half.
Cleveland’s schedule is more forgiving than Jacksonville’s. The Browns host the New York Giants next week, then travel to Las Vegas to face the Raiders the following week. Still, if they want to make the opening month a positive foundation for the rest of the season, a win on Sunday would seem essential.
