By Jeff Moeller
Photo Courtesy of Cleveland Browns
Florida Sports Wire
JACKSONVILLE
(FSW) - There were
some mixed results for the Jaguars in their 24-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns
at TIAA Field Friday night.
The Jags’
first-team offense and defense were in sync, but new head coach Doug Pederson
will need to sort through the backups over the next few weeks to take the
initial steps to restructure the franchise.
Their Trevor
Lawrence-led, first-team offense played three solid series in the opening half
and managed to produce 13 points. Lawrence looked crisp and confident on the
Jag’s opening drive, highlighted by a smooth, 32-yard connection to wide
receiver Zay Jones.
But the
second-year signal caller struggled in the red zone, and the Jags had to settle
for a pair of field goals, one from Elliott Fry and another from Ryan Santoso.
Yet, the
Jags stormed out to a 13-0 lead, but then went scoreless the rest of the night.
Lawrence finished his night, connecting on six of 12 passes for 95 yards, and
he flipped a nine-yard touchdown to ex-Giant tight end Evan Engram.
Lawrence’s
most impressive stint was his ability to roll out of the pocket, mainly in the
opposite direction of the flow of the offense.
Second-year
back Travis Etienne, who missed all last season, made his NFL debut, and he
showed flashes of what the Jags expected from him. Etienne had a 12-yard burst
out of his nine carries for his 23-yard evening.
Jacksonville
had 55 yards rushing at the half without leading rusher James Robinson in the
lineup.
Most of the
Brown’s starters on defense did not play.
The Jags’
first-team defense looked impressive with an aggressive scheme. They bottled up
the Browns’ offense in the opening quarter behind quarterback DeShaun Watson,
who made his return after he sat out last year embroiled in a sexual assault
scandal.
Watson
looked rusty, and he was under siege by the Jags’ rush, as he completed only
one pass and didn’t convert a first down.
The
ticket-sold crowd of more than 54,579 booed him continuously when he broke the
huddle.
However, the
Jags will need to solve the backup role issues, as Browns’ backup quarterback
Joshua Dobbs sharply needled 10 of 13 pass attempts through the Jags’ secondary
with a touchdown.
Rookie
Browns’ running back Jerome Ford torched the Jags’ defense for a game-high 57
yards on 10 carries and scored on a three-year rush up the middle. Ford also
caught a 14-yard touchdown pass to close out the Browns’ scoring, one of his
four receptions on the night.
Jags’ backup
quarterbacks C.J. Beathard and Jake Luton struggled in the second half.
Beathard was the victim of a pick six when Browns’ corner Martin Emerson
wrestled the ball away from Jags’ receiver Jeff Cotton Jr. and scooted 74 yards
up the sideline for a score.
Beathard was four for seven for 47 yards with an
interception, and Luton was 12 for 21 for 92 yards with a pick. Luton also was
sacked four times.
The Jaguars
will host Pittsburgh Saturday night.
(Columnist
and reporter Jeff Moeller covers the Jacksonville Jaguars and other sports for Florida
Sports Wire and SportsDay.)