Promotional ploy 'TrEverbank' backfires on QB Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars

Updated Sep. 16, 2024 12:02 p.m. ET

Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — It’s safe to assume “TrEverBank” is out of business — for the season and forever.

The promotional ploy involving Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and EverBank Stadium backfired Sunday when the Cleveland Browns came to town and made Lawrence look like a rookie for more than a half in an 18-13 win.

Lawrence completed five of his first 14 passes for 16 yards before finding a little rhythm down the stretch. Similar to last week at Miami, Lawrence had a chance to lead the Jaguars (0-2) to a come-from-behind victory late but came up short.

Jacksonville’s offensive woes had little to do with the advertising gimmick designed around the team’s home opener. But it surely wasn’t a good look for Lawrence to have his name plastered all over the stadium while facing one of the NFL’s stingiest defenses.

“Yeah, we had heard about it and (it) just adds a little fuel to the fire,” Browns All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett said. “If that’s going to be the main guy, we got to take him out the game.”

The Browns sacked Lawrence four times, including once for a safety with less than two minutes to play. Lawrence was clearly frustrated — borderline angry — after the game and vowed to have “honest” conversations with teammates and coaches in hopes of digging out of an early season hole.

“If you don’t like it, and if you made a mistake and you don’t like people calling it out and talking about it, you need to find a different job because this isn’t the one,” Lawrence said.

Jacksonville has offensive issues, beginning with Lawrence misfiring too often and holding the ball too long at times. Receiver Christian Kirk needs to be more involved. Tight end Evan Engram (hamstring) needs to get healthy. And the revamped O-line needs to find more cohesion and consistency.

The result: Jacksonville is 5 of 19 on third down and averaging 15 points a game. It could get worse, too. The Jaguars play at Buffalo (2-0) on Monday night and then at Houston (2-0) on a short week.

“It’s never a panic because that’s when things start to spiral,” veteran defensive lineman Arik Armstead said. “It’s cleaning some things up, looking hard in the mirror and working to get better for next week.”

What’s Working

Defense gave Jacksonville a chance for the second straight week. The unit allowed 297 yards, sacked Deshaun Watson twice and held Cleveland to 2 of 14 on third down.

It was far from perfect, though. Linebacker Devin Lloyd and safety Antonio Johnson were flagged for roughing the passer, and the Browns converted three fourth-and-1 plays despite playing without both starting offensive tackles, running back Nick Chubb and tight end David Njoku.

What Needs Help

Lawrence is completing 51% of his passes, more than a dozen percentage points below his career average. Although it’s just two games, his accuracy needs to improve. Better protection and fewer dropped passes would help, too.

Stock Up

Cornerback Montaric “Buster” Brown finished with a career-high 11 tackles — all solo — while starting in place of Tyson Campbell (hamstring). A seventh-round draft pick out of Arkansas in 2022, Brown also had two stops behind the line of scrimmage. He could have been better in coverage, but it was a solid start for a guy who will have to fill in while Campbell recovers on injured reserve.

Stock Down

Kicker Cam Little banged a 43-yard field goal off the right upright in the third quarter while trailing 16-3. Jacksonville’s margin for error appears thin right now, so the team can’t afford to leave points off the scoreboard, especially on drives that reach the red zone like that one did.

Injuries

Engram strained a hamstring in pregame warmups and was ruled out before kickoff. The tight end has an extra day to get healthy before facing the Bills on Monday night.

Key Number

294 — Number of days since Lawrence won his last start. It’s a longer drought than Lawrence experienced between his final collegiate start at Clemson and his first NFL victory under then-coach Urban Meyer in 2021. Lawrence has lost seven consecutive starts dating to last season, the longest active skid by a QB in the league.