The Jacksonville Jaguars played quarterback Trevor Lawrence for the entire first half of the preseason loss to New Orleans on Monday night, and the rest of the starters were on the field for most of that time. It was an extended look at the offense, but it was limited by poor offensive line play.
Starters Cam Robinson, Andrew Norwell, and Brandon Linder were all inactive, and Lawrence didn’t get much protection from the patchwork group. He finished the game 14-of-23 for 113 yards, but he didn’t have time in the pocket to make any particularly impressive plays.
After the game, coach Urban Meyer, known for his success as an offensive coach, conceded that it’s been a bit of a mess from the starting group for two weeks now.
“The starting offense, for two weeks in a row, we are just struggling to get in some rhythm,” he said. “We kind of went into the game, let’s run the ball at them a little bit with play-action and getting Trevor (Lawrence) comfortable a little bit. I know that he had a nice play to his left, threw it down the field, and made a heck of a play. We are not balanced right now. When you get stuffed. There were too many off-schedule plays in the first half. (There were) three threes and out other than that one first down. Trevor did a nice job on that two-minute drill and we were able to pound it in there. We’ve got to get our offensive line back and play better and run the ball.”
That lack of balance can be at least partially attributed to the offensive line play, as James Robinson was the leading rusher on the night with just 13 yards.
The offense couldn’t enter the end zone until late in the game when C.J. Beathard led two quick scoring drives with mostly third-string players on the field. However, Meyer said he thought the offense still opened up a little bit compared to the first game.
“It didn’t look like it, but we did,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep swinging. We are going to swing. I just told them that I am looking for fighters and I am looking for competitors. We will have a locker room full of competitors. I think that we’ve got a bunch of them. I am learning a lot about them and they are learning a lot about us. A young guy like Tavon Austin, he’s actually not that young anymore, I just love that guy. He’s an energizer bunny for me. I’m just looking for that. I am looking for guys that show that spark and that energy.”
Austin has been one of the preseason standouts for the Jags, and he could be the cure for some of the offensive sluggishness. Known for his speed, he’s made more plays than some other receivers who have seen more playing time. He’s currently staking a very strong claim to make the final roster despite being a late addition.
It hasn’t been what Jags fans hoped to see from the offense in the first two games, but they’ll hope that the group can show some sort of spark in the final game with a (hopefully) healthier offensive line.