In his Jaguars' debut, Trevor Lawrence showed flashes in his 15-snap, 6-of-9 performance against the Browns. His offensive line gave him time. He was able to showcase his cannon of an arm.
Despite playing the entire first half, Lawrence didn't experience nearly as much success in his second, NFL game.
The Saints (1-1) pounced on the Jaguars (0-2) from the jump, capitalizing on two, first quarter Jameis Winston touchdown passes en route to a 23-21 win. The Jaguars reserves did mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, led by C.J. Beathard's two touchdowns. With that loss, Lawrence and Urban Meyer are still searching for their first wins in the NFL. The Jaguars have not won a game since Week One of the 2021 season.
With three of his five starting offensive linemen held out of Monday's contest, Lawrence was forced to play "backyard football" for much of the game. He finished 14-of-23 for 113 yards with a sack and added one, nine-yard third-down run. Despite some early miscommunication, he was able to connect with Marvin Jones Jr. (4 catches, 41 yards) and Laviska Shenault Jr. (5 catches, 36 yards).
Starting center Brandon Linder and starting left guard Andrew Norwell were held out with injuries, as expected. Left tackle Cam Robinson was also mysteriously held out of Monday's game. Tyler Shatley, Ben Bartch, and Walker Little all started for Jacksonville.
In addition to struggling to protect Lawrence, the offensive line was even more woeful in the ground game. At halftime, Lawrence was the Jaguars' leading rusher. James Robinson (5 carries, 13 yards) and Carlos Hyde (3 carries, 7 yards) struggled to find room in the first half. Travis Etienne was on the field for a handful of snaps before leaving with a foot injury.
The incumbent Gardner Minshew started the second half for Jacksonville under-center. He finished 13-of-21 for 149 yards with a sack and an interception.
C.J. Beathard entered in the fourth quarter and led the Jaguars on a pair of scoring drives. Beathard finished 9-of-14 for 121 yards with touchdowns to Tim Cotton Jr. and Collin Johnson. Beathard, who the Jaguars gave a two-year contract to this offseason with more than $2 million in guarantees, is now 22-30 for 223 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the preseason.
Reserve running backs Devine Ozigbo and Dare Ogunbowale entered in the second half and had more success than their position room teammates. Ozigbo's 30-yard screen pass from Minshew was one of the longer plays for the Jaguars the entire game. Former Florida Gators wide receiver Josh Hammond also added a 33-yard catch-and-run from Minshew.
Kicker Josh Lambo was 2-of-3 on field goal duty, missing from 46-yards out.
With so much scrutiny surrounding the offense, the Jaguars' defensive line's success went largely unnoticed. Jihad Ward and Dawuane Smoot both tallied sacks for Jacksonville, while Ward and Myles Jack had three tackles each. The defense's struggles were in the secondary. Prized free agent signee Shaq Griffin was in-coverage on both of Winston's touchdowns (second-rounder Tyson Campbell was also in-coverage on the first touchdown), while veteran Sidney Jones missed several tackles.
Star defensive end Josh Allen was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 List on Monday morning.
The Jaguars (0-2) travel to face the Dallas Cowboys in their preseason finale on Sunday, August 29, at 1 p.m. EST.