It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t horrible either.
It was 2023 Preseason Week 1 for the Jaguars, and the starters exited with an eight-point lead in what turned out to be a 28-23 win against the Dallas Cowboys in front of an announced 81,204 at AT&T Stadium Saturday evening.
“Some good and some bad, obviously,” Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson remarked. “Overall, there are a lot of things to clean up, but there are some positives we’ll take a look at and build on.”
The Jaguars’ first-team offence exited the game with 3:46 left in the first quarter, leading 8-0 following a short touchdown drive on their third – and last – series.
In three series, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed five of six throws for 36 yards. On his first throw of the game, he threw an interception deep down the left sideline and scored on his next two tries.
“Whenever there’s points on the board, you want to win these games,” Lawrence said. “Obviously, it doesn’t count towards your regular-season record, but from a team morale standpoint, it’s good.”
The Jaguars’ defence also exited the game late in the first quarter, having shut out the Cowboys on two consecutive series and recording a sack.
The early eight-point advantage was aided by a key special teams performance by wide receiver Tim Jones, who caused a fumble by Cowboys punt returner KaVontae Turpin, which was recovered by Jaguars cornerback Gregory Junior at the Dallas 42.
On the subsequent possession, Lawrence concluded a six-play drive – the first-team offense’s final of the night – with a nine-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Christian Kirk. After Lawrence provided solid protection on the 4th-and-3 play, the experienced receiver was crossing in the back of the end zone and open.
Lawrence completed his last throw of the game on the subsequent two-point conversion to wide receiver Zay Jones for an 8-0 lead with 4:40 left in the first quarter.
“Everything, you want to be a winner,” said rookie running back Tank Bigsby, who led Jaguars running backs with 52 yards on nine runs. “You want to compete and win in everything you do.” We put in the effort and practise, and we expect to come out and have it show on video and win.”
Junior stripped backup running back Rico Dowdle at the Jaguars 2 and recovered at the Jaguars 1. Overall, the Jaguars defence produced four sacks on Saturday, including one each from nose tackle DaVon Hamilton in the first quarter, rookie pass rusher Yasir Abdullah and veteran defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter in the second quarter, and rookie linebacker Ventrell Miller in the fourth.
The Jaguars concluded with two defensive takeaways, including a late-game interception of Cowboys quarterback Will Grier by rookie cornerback Christian Braswell.
“The last couple years, I think we’ve only won one preseason game, so it’s nice when you can win these games – especially when your depth plays well like they do today,” Lawrence said. “It instills confidence in everyone.” It’s encouraging to see that and to be able to complete games in these scenarios, which occur throughout the season.
“It’s great to see those guys handle them and play well under pressure.”
Step-by-step instructions:
o On the game’s second offensive play, Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas intercepted a long throw down the left sideline from Lawrence to tight end Evan Engram, ending the Jaguars’ opening drive. After a rush by safety Andre Cisco, Hamilton’s sack helped terminate the Cowboys’ opening drive. A holding penalty on rookie tight end Brent Strange hampered the Jaguars’ second drive, which concluded with Cooke’s punt, which Turpin fumbled, leading to Lawrence’s touchdown throw to Kirk.
o With 7:41 left in the half, backup quarterback C.J. Beathard’s two-yard run put the Jaguars ahead 14-0. A 34-yard rush by rookie running back Tank Bigsby from the Jaguars 12 and a 42-yard grab by veteran receiver Jacob Harris to the Cowboys 4 on a ball from Beathard fueled the Jaguars’ six-play, 88-yard drive. Will Grier’s 17-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Jalbert with:17 left in the second quarter trimmed the Jaguars’ advantage to 14-7 at the half.
o With 8:34 left in the third quarter, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey’s 29-yard field goal trimmed the Jaguars’ advantage to 14-10.
o With 13:15 left, rookie running back Deuce Vaughn’s three-yard run gave Dallas a 16-14 lead. On the subsequent play, third-team quarterback Nathan Rourke’s four-yard run and two-point throw to wide out Oliver Martin made it 22-16 with 8:53 left. Rourke made it 28-16 with a 21-yard touchdown throw to running back Qadree Ollison, a play in which Rourke barely escaped a sack before finding an open Ollison on the right side of the end zone. With 2:16 left, Grier tossed 15 yards to tight end John Stephens, cutting the Cowboys’ advantage to the final margin.
Notable: The following Jaguars players have been ruled out of Saturday’s game:
Tyson Campbell (cornerback) (concussion protocol)
Tyler Shatley, guard/center (atrial fibrillation)
Sammis Reyes (tight end) (concussion protocol)
Willie Taylor III, outside linebacker
Foye Oluokun (middle linebacker) (precautionary)
Abdullah returned to the game after being in the concussion protocol for the last week.
Defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot (Achilles) and right guard Ben Bartch (knee) remain on the PUP list for the start of 2023 Training Camp.
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