Have the Jaguars Lost Faith in Their Offensive Line?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have allowed quarterback Trevor Lawrence to be sacked seven times in the first two games of the season. Do they still believe in the offensive line protecting their franchise QB?

Cleveland Browns defensive end Alex Wright (91) sacks Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) in the end zone for a safety during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Browns defeated the Jaguars 18-13. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 0-2 and have a legitimate chance to go 0-3 as they hit the road to face the Buffalo Bills. The Bills have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the National Football League this season.

However, they also have one of the top-scoring defenses in the league, which will undoubtedly pose many issues for the Jaguars on Sunday.

The Bills defense has registered six sacks through the season's first two games. The Jaguars have allowed seven, which has led to quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the offense struggling to score enough points to win games.

The seven sacks the Jaguars have allowed are just two fewer than the league-high nine sacks allowed by the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and Las Vegas Raiders.

Although the Jaguars are near the top of the league in sacks allowed, Coach Doug Pederson is still confident in the team’s offensive line. However, he noted the unit must communicate better with each other, pointing to numerous miscues during their home loss to the Cleveland Browns.

“Well, I think [confidence is] the number one thing,” Pederson said. “I think the confidence is still there. That's the thing. think the communication is probably the biggest issue. Some of the hits yesterday was the fact that whether it was Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] or Mitch [OL Mitch Morse], I mean, these are things we’ve got to fix, making protection calls and letting guys free. Then the one on the safety is just a matter of just execution down there. It wasn't necessarily a communication issue. 

"Then, just having a sense of awareness. Because if we pick up that defensive tackle right there, there's a big play to [WR] Brian Thomas [Jr.]. So those are all things that we've got to fix. Even in the run game, this is probably going to be the fastest, sort of downhill linebacker group we may see all season, and these guys really attack the line of scrimmage.”

The Jaguars did not start the season as they had hoped, but Coach Pederson still believes there are positives they can build on as they prepare to face the Buffalo Bills on the road in Week 3.  

“There were some good things, some good positive things, some good, nice runs that were in there," Coach Pederson said. Then there were some ones that we failed to execute on. So, confidence is still high and it's going to remain high. We'll just continue to gel these five guys together.”

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