The Cleveland Browns were a swarm of piranhas on defense, as always, as they sacked Jaguars' quarterback Trevor Lawrence 4 times and hit him seven times. One sack was for a safety that should have been the game-clincher for the Browns; Jacksonville's defense also matched their level. Josh Hines-Allen and Foyesade Oluokun led the charge with two sacks and eight quarterback hits. The Browns offense improved slightly from Week 1, but their special teams deserve the most credit for their win, with kicker Dustin Hopkins having a perfect day hitting field goals and punter Corey Bojorquez sky towering punts to help out the defense.
The Jaguars generated a near comeback after trailing 16-3 until late third quarter, scoring a touchdown with Travis Etienne running it and a field goal to cut it to 16-13. The Jaguars had two chances to complete the comeback. The first attempt failed with a safety sack by Browns Alex Wright, and the second attempt failed with a hail mary pass into the endzone, which cornerback Martin Emerson knocked down. The defense saved the day for the Browns, but the offense still needs to open up more. As it is dangerous to try to continue to win in the NFL in this kind of fashion.
Near Deja Vu, Twice
When Trevor Lawrence and the offense received the ball right around their own 2-yard line with a minute and 48 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, the Browns leading 16-13. Flashbacks of an iconic moment in NFL history involving the Browns had to pop up in the minds of Browns' fans watching this occur. The 1986 AFC championship game where John Elway and the Broncos drove 98 yards to tie the game and defeat the Browns in overtime 23-20 to go to Super Bowl 21. The game that first stamped John Elway a living legend and turned his name into a bad word to say in Cleveland. The game that would be nicknamed "The Drive."
The first thing they had to say was, "Oh boy, not again," while sweating profusely, believing that their team would lose this game. Allowing Trevor Lawrence to channel his inner John Elway to conduct a 98-yard drive of his own. Instead, Browns defensive lineman Alex Wright busted through Jacksonville's protection and sacked Lawrence in the endzone for a safety to extend the Browns' lead from three to five.
The Browns gave the Jaguars another chance for a comeback after not converting a third down and not having the clock continue to run. The Jaguars were emptied of timeouts, and the Browns chose to throw the ball. Deshaun Watson, rolling to the left, pressured by Josh Hine-Allen, threw an incomplete pass that almost looked like a fumble that could've been lost. Being at the Jaguars' 40-yard line, the Browns could have just called a run play to keep the clock rolling. Even if the third down wasn't converted, yards positive enough to get into field goal range was possible.
The Jaguars would be spotted inside the 20 again due to a second straight punt inside the 20 by Cory Bojorquez, this time at the 10-yard line. Trevor Lawrence, a man with five fourth-quarter comebacks and one in the playoffs to his name, got the drive going with a 2nd and 10 conversion with a 22-yard pass to Gabriel Davis. Lawrence would scramble for 12 yards for another first down and convert on a 2nd and 15 with a 28-yard laser throw to Brian Thomas Jr. to spot the Jaguars at the Browns 33-yard line in just six plays. The last play was a heave to the endzone and was near catchable for tight end Brenton Strange if it wasn't for cornerback Martin Emerson coming in for the knock away of the pass at the nick of time.
Trevor Lawrence was uncomfortable standing in the pocket all day. That final drive, he nearly channeled his inner John Elway. Converting long yardages at a time with scrambles and zip-line passes—Dissecting Jim Schwartz's defense like a veteran surgeon. Schwartz had the Browns in a prevent defense the whole time during that drive. Something that their previous defensive coordinator, Joe Woods, now with the Saints, would do a lot for almost an entire game. Especially during Week 2 of the 2022 season against the New York Jets, when they were up by two scores with under two minutes to go, allowed the Joe Flacco to throw two touchdowns, resulting in one of the quickest comebacks in NFL history.
The Dawg Pound Defense
When the defense first stepped onto the field, it became apparent that they would make things miserable for Trevor Lawrence. Sacking him two times while hitting him seven times. Even when the pressure didn't get to him, Lawrence kept that feeling that the rush was coming every snap. This caused him to miss routine throws, including on what looked like a touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis in the second quarter at the 4:51 mark on third and goal. He was off-balanced while throwing the pass, and the ball flew behind Davis while he was open in the back of the endzone.
The same thing occurred on a third and five play in the first quarter during their first drive to Gabriel Davis, with the ball sailing over him toward the sidelines. An overthrown pass to Davis with no one near him ran an out route that anyone's grandmother could have made. While Lawrence did finish the game with 220 passing yards, he completed 14 of 30 pass attempts and 0 touchdowns. It had to be the thought of Myles Garrett and company busting through his offensive line, every snap sticking to the back of his mind.
The linebackers contributed to the pass rush as well. With blitzes from Jordan Hicks, seeing him in Jacksonville's backfield a couple of times. Hicks hit Lawrence twice and sacked him once while he and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah successfully shut down their rushing attack. Despite allowing one touchdown from Travis Ettienne, they held them to just 52 rushing yards and an average of 4.0 yards per carry on 13 handoffs taken. That touchdown run by Etienne was greatly set up two plays ago by a 66-yard pass from Trevor Lawrence to Brian Thomas Jr., placing them at the Browns' six-yard line. As some big plays they allowed, the defense bent but didn't break.
Special Teams is Cleveland's Only Offense for Now
The offense did look different in a good way from Week 1, as there was more creativity with the play designs and more medium-yardage passing. The offense gained 67 more yards while keeping the football four minutes longer than the previous game. However, the first drive was their only touchdown drive and the best drive they had that whole afternoon. Deshaun Watson was hit eight times while being sacked twice, revealing the unsolved issues with protection. The running game only mustard up 129 yards on 29 carries.
While the offense couldn't score, the special teams backed the unit up. Dusting Hopkins scoring 10 of the Browns' 18 points was just as crucial as Corey Bojorquez's punting. While Hopkins hit 100% of his field goals, Bojorquez was hitting a punting yard average of 43.6, and his best punt of the day went for 64 yards. His three punts going inside the 20-yard line, including two of those punts happening within the game's last two minutes, made it a long way for the Jaguars' offense to travel. One of those punts landed right at the two-yard line to set up Alex Wright's lead-extending sack, resulting in two points.
Up Next: New York Giants (0-2)
The Browns will be back at the Dawg Pound hosting a match, and their guest will be the New York Giants. Their date with the G-men takes place this Sunday, September 22nd, at one o'clock on FOX. This game looks more like a quick feed from the Lions to the Browns, as they are facing the second-worst scoring offense in the league and a defense ranked 25th in the NFL in points allowed.
Their elite secondary will only have Malik Nabers to worry about the most, and their pass rush is expected to feast on Daniel Jones all day long. The only way an upset is possible here is the offensive line not holding up against New York's three-headed pass rush of Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux. They will have to spend a lot of time in the film room and become a brick wall pocket to keep these three guys off of Deshaun Watson.
Final Score: Browns 18, Jaguars 13
Anderson's Three Stars
1st Star - Browns P Corey Bojorquez (5 punts, 3 punts inside the 20, 43.6 punting average, longest punt being 64 yards)
2nd Star - Jaguars Edge Rusher Josh Hines-Allen (1 sack, 4 quarterback hits, 1 batted pass, 1 tackle for loss
3rd Star - Browns LB Jordan Hicks (3 Tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, 2 pass defended, 2 quarterback hits)
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