Lawrence throws four TDs as Jaguars open with 34-10 win over Browns

Trevor Lawrence needed only one afternoon to set the tone for Jacksonville's season. The Jaguars quarterback completed 18 of 23 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions Sunday at EverBank Stadium, posting a 150.6 passer rating in a 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns.

The team's official game report and Associated Press accounts said Lawrence threw scoring passes to Parker Washington (30 yards), Josh Cameron (4 yards), Brenton Strange (14 yards) and Jakobi Meyers (32 yards). Per CBS Sports' box score, he completed 78.3 percent of his throws. ESPN's box matches that line.

The Jaguars noted he became the second quarterback in franchise history to throw touchdowns to four different receivers in a game, matching a Blake Bortles feat from September 2018.

A first half that never loosened

Foyesade Oluokun's 22-yard interception return set up Washington's diving touchdown for a 7-0 lead. Cameron's short catch finished the next drive for 14-0. Cam Little's 47-yard field goal and Strange's touchdown reception pushed Jacksonville to 24-0 by halftime, according to the club's play log and AP wire.

Lawrence's second-half strike to Meyers on a roll left, capping a four-play, 60-yard drive, made it 31-0 early in the third. Little later added a 40-yard field goal. Cleveland's only scores were Andre Szmyt's 26-yard field goal and a late Deshaun Watson touchdown pass to Denzel Boston.

Efficiency over volume

Jacksonville outgained Cleveland 360-272 and converted 5 of 10 third downs while the Browns went 1 of 8, per team totals. Watson finished 16 of 22 for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first regular-season start in 693 days, ESPN reported. The Browns also lost a fumble and were flagged 11 times for 75 yards.

Lawrence's distribution - four different targets in the end zone - kept Cleveland from loading coverage on any single option. Washington's early deep ball, Cameron's red-zone finish, Strange's intermediate strike and Meyers' roll-out score sketched a complete passing menu rather than a one-receiver afternoon.

Jacksonville improved to 1-0 and won its regular-season opener for a second consecutive year, the club noted. Cleveland fell to 0-1 under new coach Todd Monken.

Four touchdowns on 23 attempts is the kind of opener that compresses a week's worth of questions into one box line. Lawrence did not need 40 throws. He needed accuracy, protection and a defense that handed him short fields, and he turned that combination into a 34-10 result that left little suspense after the first quarter.

For a Jaguars team that wants its season defined by starts like this, Sunday supplied the template.

The Browns travel home to sort an offense that managed five first downs in the first half, according to postgame box summaries. Jacksonville, meanwhile, can file Lawrence's four-touchdown opener as the standard it will measure the next 16 weeks against.

Sources

ESPN

ESPN

jaguars.com