It's time to panic in Jacksonville. The Jaguars are 0-2 to start the season and it looks like the team's offense is just not up to par, despite giving a massive contract extension this offseason to quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars lost a Week 2 game to the Cleveland Browns, 18-13, and the Jaguars are most to blame for that loss.
Here are some reasons why that is the case.
Trevor Lawrence is not finding rhythm
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is getting paid like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. This previous offseason, the gunslinger agreed to a more than $250 million contract extension. He's supposed to be generating a great deal of production for this offense.
That didn't happen against the Browns. Lawrence finished the game completing just 14-for-30 of his passes, for 220 yards. He didn't throw a single touchdown pass, and the Jaguars mustered just 13 total points. Teams in the NFL don't regularly win games that way. In fact through two NFL games so far, the Jaguars have scored only 30 total points. Again, that's not good enough and Jaguars fans expect better.
Jacksonville is also doing a bad job at the basics when it comes to offense. The team is struggling to get first downs. Against the Browns, the squad went just 3-for-9 on third down conversions. That continued a frustrating streak of lackluster performances, as the team went 2-for-10 on third down conversions against Miami in Week 1.
It's not all Trevor Lawrence's fault, despite these struggles. That leads to the next reason why the Jaguars are most to blame for the loss against Cleveland.
The Jaguars offensive line is not doing enough to help
Jacksonville's offensive line is not helping Lawrence and the running game enough. Jacksonville gave up a total of seven sacks through its first two games, including four against the Browns. Those sacks stalled drives for the Jaguars offense, and forced the team to play only 55 offensive snaps in the game.
Jacksonville just can't win games playing like this. The team was able to rush for 127 yards in the game, including 52 from Travis Etienne Jr. Again, those numbers have to improve. The Jaguars won't find many victories when their leading rusher gains 52 yards on the ground. The Jaguars offensive line must step up and do a better job of creating holes and protecting their talented gunslinger.
The team is near the bottom of the league in several offensive statistical categories. This includes passing yards, as the squad has 382 yards passing through two games. That's just 22nd in the league. The team also has just 255 total rushing yards, again in the middle of the road for the league at 15th overall.
Other than the offensive line, there's one more person to blame for the Jaguars woes.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson needs to get through to his players
The Jaguars are in close to a free fall going back toward the end of the 2023 season. The Jaguars started the 2023 campaign with an 8-3 record, but lost five of their last six games to finish the season at 9-8. The squad missed the postseason and blew their chance to win the AFC South Division.
Those woes continued into 2024, as the team has an 0-2 start. The team has now lost 7 of their last 8 games. Jacksonville has been in these two games, losing by just five points to the Browns in Week 2. In Week 1, the team lost by only three to Miami.
The blame has to be thrown at the feet of head coach Doug Pederson. Pederson has to coach these guys into being able to win close games, and play good offense. Jaguars fans and management have put their trust in Lawrence and company to get it done, and their financial commitment just isn't paying off so far.
There's some good news for the Jaguars moving forward. The team's defense is doing its part, giving up only 38 points in two games. If Jacksonville can fix its offensive struggles, the team may still have a chance to make waves moving forward this NFL season.
Make no mistake though, the Jaguars are now in dire straits and must win their third official game of the season. The team next plays the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
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