JACKSONVILLE — Trevor Lawrence completed 13 of 18 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Jaguars rolled to a 34-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns in their Week 1 opener at EverBank Stadium.
Jacksonville built a 24-0 halftime lead behind Lawrence’s precision and a defense that sacked Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson five times while allowing just one sack on Lawrence. Head Coach Liam Coen said the dominance was by design. “I thought we were definitely the more physical unit,” Coen said. “We play at our best as a team here in Jacksonville when we’re playing grimy, physical nasty and we’re flying around with relentless pursuit. That’s in all three phases.”
Wide receiver Parker Washington opened the scoring with a 30-yard diving touchdown reception and finished with a game-high five catches for 83 yards. “I was just having fun,” Washington said. “I just wanted to bring energy and go out there and celebrate with the guys and have a great win today.” Washington, who has been negotiating a contract extension through the offseason and preseason, drew praise from Lawrence. “You would not even know that’s going on just the way he carries himself,” Lawrence said. “He’s a worker and he’s a stud. Had a great day today.”
The Jaguars outrushed Cleveland 126-87, with second-year running back Bhayshul Tuten making his first NFL start and rushing for 66 yards on 15 carries. “It was a great start,” Tuten said. “We came out moving the ball like we wanted to. Looked explosive overall, in the pass game, run game, blocking-wise, and I think that’s what we wanted to showcase.” Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr. are expected to anchor a ground game that was an area of focus throughout the offseason. Coen said he was “very pleased with” Tuten’s yards after contact and noted that Tuten “ran nasty. He ran violent.”
Lawrence credited the fast start to his second season working with Coen and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. “We had a great week of practice,” Lawrence said. “It felt like there was a really good understanding of the plan from everyone on offense by the end of the week.” Coen said coaches communicated the offense’s “opening script” earlier in the week, adding that Lawrence “had a great grasp of the plan on Friday when we did our call-sheet meeting.” Lawrence said the tempo is the standard going forward: “That [starting fast] is the goal moving forward, obviously.”
A reshuffled offensive line held up well, with Anton Harrison making his first career start at left tackle after spending his first three seasons on the right side, rookie Emmanuel Pregnon debuting at left guard and Cole Van Lanen returning at right tackle after missing the preseason on the Physically Unable to Perform list following offseason knee surgery. Ezra Cleveland shifted from left guard to right guard. “They did a great job,” Lawrence said. “Those guys really protected well. We ran the ball pretty well for the most part, too. I thought they did an awesome job.”
The Jaguars travel for their Week 2 matchup looking to build on a performance Coen framed as the team’s identity taking shape — playing, as he put it, “our brand of football and not playing somebody else’s game.”