Four Takeaways from Jaguars’ Win Over Browns
JACKSONVILLE — Sunday’s season opener for the Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t have gone much better for the home squad.
The Jaguars trounced the Cleveland Browns 34-10 to mark the start of their second season in the Liam Coen era. Behind an explosive offensive performance and lockdown defense from start to finish, Jacksonville sits at 1-0 heading into two tough games to finish out the month.
The crew managed to keep Cleveland out of the end zone until the final minutes of the game and found it offensively four times over in the meantime.
Trevor Lawrence Starts Strong
For just the second time in his career, Lawrence threw four touchdown passes, and his second of the afternoon marked the 100th of his NFL career. He became the fourth player in the league’s history under 27 years old to add 100 touchdowns and rush for 20.
The former No. 1 pick finished the contest 18-of-23 passing for 245 yards and four touchdowns. His zero turnovers were a testament to his strong decision making throughout the game.
His performance was not flawless, getting called for an illegal forward pass in the Jaguars’ second drive of the game, but overall he kicked off the season on a strong note.
“I thought he spread the ball around, trusted the guys that were in to make plays,” coach Liam Coen said. “He did some really good stuff off schedule again today … so was definitely pleased with the way Trevor ran the offense.”
Wide Receiver Corps is That Good
The Jaguars wide receiver unit was one of the most highly touted groups in the league heading into Week 1. However, the performance of the room was impressive even by those standards.
Parker Washington headlined the contest Sunday, posting five receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. He logged the team’s first touchdown of the 2026 season on a 30-yard dart from Trevor Lawrence, his longest grab of the game.
Brian Thomas Jr. also showed out despite suffering a shoulder injury in the first half. He finished with three receptions for 40 yards, including an 18-yard grab to put his team in the red zone on the second drive of the contest. He was cleared to return to the game in the second half, and it doesn’t appear the injury will be a lingering one as Jacksonville turns its focus to Week 2.
The final piece of the Big 3 receiving unit, Jakobi Meyers, also snagged one in the end zone in his 2026 debut. He caught one wide open in the corner on a 32-yard dime from Lawrence to cap off the quick four-play, 60-yard, 2:52 drive.
Rookie Josh Cameron also displayed the depth of the unit, grabbing a short 4-yard pass from Lawrence in the end zone with just under two minutes to go in the first quarter. He picked up another 16 yards when he snagged another in the third quarter.
Defense Looks Sharp
While the offense fired on all cylinders, the defense held Cleveland out of the end zone until less than two minutes remained on the clock in the final frame.
“I thought our defense played phenomenal,” Coen said. “I really thought our defense came to play.”
The Jaguars’ front seven clobbered Deshaun Watson and the rest of the Browns’ attack from the beginning. Foyesade Oluokun recorded an interception on the first drive of the game, picking off Watson’s pass intended for Jerry Jeudy with help from a blitz by linebacker Ventrell Miller.
Oluokun nearly picked off Watson again on the next drive, but came up short. He tacked on four tackles and a pass defended to his stat line to go along with the interception.
“We got that interception; for me it was like that was the statement right there, this is when the game is going to turn that fast,” defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said.
Miller’s contributions Sunday afternoon did not end with the quarterback pressure on the opening drive. The linebacker finished the contest with a team-high nine tackles and a team-high six solo tackles. He also added a forced fumble in the second quarter on KC Concepcion, which was recovered by Hines-Allen.
The highly touted edge rusher duo of Hines-Allen and Travon Walker also showed out. Along with the fumble recovery, Hines-Allen added five tackles, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
Meanwhile, Walker etched his name into franchise history, recording 1.5 sacks and moving himself into sixth place all-time in total sacks recorded ahead of John Henderson (2002-09).
“[Walker] started off just effort sacks … just being relentless in the rush,” Hines-Allen said.
In the Jaguars’ secondary, safety Caleb Ransaw jumped off the stat sheet, recording six total tackles — good for second on Jacksonville’s squad.
The Running Game is Not a Problem
With the offseason departure of Jacksonville’s 2025 leading rusher Travis Etienne Jr., the running back unit was one of the question marks heading into the new season. However, the group, anchored by returner Bhayshul Tuten, didn’t miss a beat.
Tuten logged a consistent 15 carries for 66 yards. He exploded for a 12-yard gain, his longest of the afternoon, but mainly found his stride consistently chipping away at the Cleveland defense, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He also nabbed one in the receiving game for 22 yards.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. also pulled his weight in the contest, seeing less than half the snaps of his counterpart and finishing with 23 yards on six carries.
Expected fourth-string back Ameer Abdullah had the most explosive runs of the day. He took advantage of the struggling Browns defense, and he added 32 yards on four carries, averaging a team-high 8 yards per rush.
vThe Jaguars will face far more of a test on both sides of the ball when they take on Bo Nix and one of the premier defenses in the NFL next Sunday in Denver at 4:05 p.m.
Category: Feature Sports News, Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL
