JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Cleveland and Jacksonville would love a Week 1 do-over. They’ll have to settle for a bounce-back.
The Browns and Jaguars, both coming off gut-punch openers in which their offenses had far too many cringe-worthy moments, will try to avoid an 0-2 hole when they meet Sunday in Jacksonville.
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“You fix the mistakes,” said Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who didn’t play in the preseason. “It’s all of us; it’s not just me.”
Cleveland managed just 230 yards in a 33-17 loss to Dallas last week. Watson threw two interceptions and was sacked a league-high six times while playing without starting offensive tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr. The Browns were 2 of 15 on third-down conversions.
“We left a lot of plays out there,” receiver Jerry Jeudy said.
The Jaguars feel the same after their 20-17 setback at Miami. Jacksonville was on the verge of extending its lead to 24-7 late in the third quarter when running back Travis Etienne fumbled near the goal line.
The Dolphins scored on the ensuing play, and the 14-point swing ended up being a game-changer. Miami rallied from there as Jacksonville faltered down the stretch.
Two failed short-yardage runs ended one drive, and Trevor Lawrence was sacked on consecutive plays to close out another. The Jaguars ended the day with 267 yards and went 2 of 10 on third down.
“We don’t like having this feeling of having to bounce back,” Jaguars tight end Evan Engram said. “We understand there’s going to be adversity in a play, adversity in a game, adversity in a season. That’s kind of our motto: we’re going to respond to it and we’re going to attack it."
The Jaguars found some positives, including rookie Brian Thomas Jr.’s debut, 128 yards rushing and a defensive effort that included three sacks and keeping one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses in check for 61 of 65 plays.
“Being in this league, obviously some sting more than others,” receiver Christian Kirk said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that one stung a little bit more. But you have to flush it. … We’ve moved on and are ready for this week.”
Winless versus Watson
The Jaguars are winless against Watson. The former Houston standout is 6-0 as a starter against Jacksonville, sweeping the AFC South series every year between 2018 and 2020.
Watson has thrown for 1,962 yards, with eight touchdowns and two interceptions, in those games and has run for 181 yards and two more scores.
Jaguars pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen would prefer to not see that same guy reemerge.
“I hope he don’t come up this week,” Hines-Allen said.
Shoulder shrug
Watson’s surgically repaired shoulder survived some brutal hits as he was sacked six times and hit 17 overall by the Cowboys.
It was the first real test for Watson, who hadn’t been tackled since leading the Browns to a comeback win against Baltimore in November.
“I was a little sore for sure,” Watson said. “Just overall soreness, but the shoulder was completely fine.”
The day after the opener, a woman in Texas accused Watson of sexual assault and battery in October 2020 while he played for Houston. Watson said he was unaware of the allegations until they went public in the media.
The question now is: how will Jaguars fans react? They taunted Watson during a preseason game in 2022, roundly booing him and chanting vulgarities at him during three series of work.
Blocking Garrett
Jacksonville’s offensive plan has a top priority: don’t let All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett wreck the game. Garrett has 89½ sacks in eight seasons, although none of those have come against the Jaguars.
Jacksonville would like to keep it that way, especially with left tackle Cam Robinson dealing with a knee injury and right tackle Anton Harrison coming off one of his worst games as a pro.
“Understanding that (No. 95), he’s alive each and every play and trying to get a chip on him each and every time,” Etienne said. “Just understand where 95 is every play.”
Defensive drop-off
While Watson and Cleveland’s offense sputtered, the defense didn’t exactly live up to its billing.
That’s two straight uneven performances for a unit that ranked No. 1 in numerous categories last season before giving up 45 points in an embarrassing playoff loss to Houston.
Adding injury to insult, the Browns placed four defensive players — including starting safety Juan Thornhill — on injured reserve. Thornhill, who had nine tackles in the opener, will miss at least four weeks.
“It’s a big loss," Ward said. “Juan’s a great player out there and one of the leaders in our back end. Whoever’s going to be back there is going to pick it up and we’re going to keep it rolling.”
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed from Cleveland.
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