JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It's officially Week 2 of a long NFL season, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are focused on quickly moving past their Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
"Every game is important, so we don't take it lightly," said quarterback Trevor Lawrence. "But we also understand it's a long season, and we have a lot of confidence in our team and the group we have. We need to improve and not make those same mistakes."
As the Jaguars move forward, Lawrence and head coach Doug Pederson aren't concerned about running back Travis Etienne Jr. after his costly fumble in the season opener.
"He's the same guy every day," Lawrence said. "He doesn't get too high or too low, and that's something I love about him. I think he's going to respond great. He always has."
Pederson echoed Lawrence's confidence.
"I just reassured him that we're going to continue to give him the football," Pederson said. "The best thing for him is to get right back on that horse, as they say. Keep feeding him the ball. I don't want him to be tentative or cautious. I want him to attack, be aggressive, and learn from it."
Pederson also noted the team’s struggles with communication on both sides of the ball, but Lawrence had a different perspective.
"The communication was awesome," Lawrence said. "The offensive line did a great job. Protection was really good. That was a bright spot for us, and Mitch [Morse] was leading the group. It was physical, and they communicated really well. Clearly, on the road, it was loud at times. We had a couple of delay-of-game penalties, and those were on me. I've got to move a little faster and communicate better, but overall, Mitch was decisive and did an awesome job."
Looking ahead to their home opener, Lawrence is eager to establish a true home-field advantage after the team went 3-5 at home last season.
"We want the stadium to be packed. We want to have a home-field advantage and when we're winning, we get that. Towards the middle and end of the season, and when we're struggling a little bit, we've noticed that we don't necessarily get that. So, we’ve got to put a good product out there and we’ve got to play well at home for our fans," Lawrence noted.
The Jaguars kick off against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. at EverBank Stadium.