2024-09-09 09:40:02
“It feels terrible to be 0-1,” Jaguars center Mitch Morse said. “But what can you do except march on, attack the next work week, be very critical of yourself but also make it constructive? I thought they came out in the second half and made some good in-game adjustments.
“We were three and out, three and out. It puts a lot of stress in the defense. I thought the defense played really good game against a hell of an offense, and we have to do more. That’s a frustrating thing.”
Lawrence threw a touchdown pass, and the Jaguars’ run defense was impressive much of the game against one of the NFL’s best and fastest offenses. The running game was strong, too – but not enough for the Jaguars to win their second consecutive regular-season opener.
Running back Tank Bigsby rushed for 73 yards on 12 carries, and the Jaguars outrushed Miami 128-83.
Lawrence completed 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, with a second-quarter touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas a key play in a strong first half for the Jaguars.
Etienne had a touchdown run, with rookie kicker Cam Little’s first career field goal giving the Jaguars a 17-7 halftime lead. Tagovailoa completed 23 of 37 passes for 336 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.
The Jaguars’ defense in coordinator Ryan Nielsen’s debut registered three sacks and no turnovers, allowing 400 total yards – including 317 passing. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead registered a sack for the Jaguars, with defensive end Travon Walker registering two.
“We beat ourselves today,” Hines-Allen said. “They had a lot of good players, but at the end of the day, I don’t feel like they beat us. I think we beat ourselves to put them in a position to capitalize off of it. Kudos to them. They’re a heck of a team. Hopefully we see them down the road.”
