Cleveland Browns At Jacksonville Jaguars Preview And Prediction

The Browns look to avoid a disastrous 0-2 start to the season when they visit Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday

Dec 10, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram (17) is tackled by Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (6) as he runs the ball during the fourth quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Since 2007, 140 teams have started the season 0-2 and only 14 have rallied to make the playoffs. The latest team to accomplish that feat, just last year in fact, was the Houston Texans, ironically the team that Cleveland lost to in the first round of the playoffs back in January.

Eight months later, the Browns are hoping to avoid a disastrous 0-2 start of their own as they hit the road to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. These are two teams that are fairly familiar with each other, considering that they squared off in early December last year.

The rosters look a little different, but Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence still remains and he had a rough go against this Browns defense in that game. Despite throwing three touchdowns, he also threw three interceptions and was sacked four times. This time around he gets to face Myles Garrett and company at home. Will the result be the same though? Here's what members of our staff think:

Anthony Moeglin: Browns 24, Jaguars 21

Bounce back week for Cleveland. If Deshaun Watson hasn't lost the fanbase yet, all he needs is another stinker and Huntington Bank Field will hardly feel like home. The positive is that the Jaguars' secondary is beaten up. They will be down two starting corners giving the Cleveland offense a really good chance to get right on Sunday. 

Trevor Lawrence is off to a decent start and last year showed that he can throw it against the Browns secondary. He also showed that he can be careless with the football and tends to turn it over. I expect Cleveland to get a couple big takeaways that lead to points on Sunday.

Rare for there to be a Week 2 "must win" but Sunday certainly feels that way. Cleveland gets it done and comes home as a 1-1 football team.

Cole McDaniel: Jaguars 23, Browns 17

On paper the Cleveland Browns have the more complete roster. Despite falling behind the Houston Texans as the best team in the AFC South, Jacksonville does still have a strong squad.

Week 1 was a tail of two stories for both of these teams with 0-1 records. The Browns played poorly across the board and the Cowboys took advantage of the opportunites Cleveland gave them. Jacksonville on the other hand led the Dolphins and looked like they may win their season opener, before collapsing late against Miami, who kicked a game winning field goal to cue disappoint for Jacksonville

Headed into this week, I would like to be optimistic about the chances for the Browns against the Jaguars. However, that is not the case. Last season Cleveland's defense was stellar at home but struggled on the road. I do not expect them to be fully dominant, which will be needed in order to have a chance to win.

Sep 8, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (90) forces a fumble on Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) during the second half at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Deshaun Watson might still have some physical abilities but he does not appear to have the mental fortitude to perform well while receiving significant criticism. If Watson plays like he did to start this season, then this team will likely fail to surpass 20 points in a game once again. An 0-2 start will frustrate Browns fans, which not something this fanbase is unaccustomed to in recent history.

Dylan Feltovich: Jaguars 21, Browns 17

Week 1 was a disaster for the Cleveland Browns and quarterback Deshaun Watson. The offense was completely stagnant, as Watson completed 53 percent of his passes with two interceptions. To make matters worse, the offense’s short-lived series led to the defense being on the field for too long.

If the Browns want to pull off the upset this week, Watson will have to dramatically improve from last week. Jacksonville gave up 400 passing yards in the team’s first game against the Miami Dolphins, and are now dealing with multiple injuries in the secondary.

Amidst a whirlwind of things bearing down on him outside the #Browns facility. Inside it, Deshaun Watson's teammates haven't wavered in their support of the embattled QB: https://t.co/p0haSHZYFg

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) September 13, 2024

Spencer German: Jaguars 24, Browns 22

It's hard to imagine the Browns playing anywhere close to as bad as they did in Week 1. That game against Dallas was an unmitigated disaster. Contextually, season openers are flukey, especially when your starters didn't take many reps together in the preseason. Now they have a game under their belts and another week of practice.

The problem for me though is just that there is so much to correct, particularly on offense, that I don't know if one week is enough time to have it all resolved. The pre-pre-snap penalties are an easy fix and maybe just changing that is enough to allow the offense to actually get into a rhythm. But there were more issues beyond that as everybody saw, Deshaun Watson included.

For what it's worth, the path to winning does start with Watson, following a tumultuous week for the 28-year-old QB. Jacksonville will be down two corners after Tyson Campbell was placed on the IR and Darnell Savage was ruled out. Their secondary is vulnerable. Taking advantage of those mismatches is key. Forcing a few Trevor Lawrence turnovers wouldn't hurt either.