Why Has Jaguars' Star Been a Non-Factor Through 2 Weeks?

Through two weeks, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk has just two catches.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) on the field on the fifth day of the NFL football training camp practice session Monday, July 29, 2024 at EverBank Stadium's Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla.. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union] / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars have failed to meet expectations on offense in a big way through two weeks, but maybe no Jaguars player has had a more surprising start than wide receiver Christian Kirk.

After one catch for 30 yards in Week 1, Kirk's numbers took a big step back in a 18-13 Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Even with starting tight end Evan Engram out of the line up, Kirk saw only three targets.

One of those targets was a desperation heave to the end zone at the end of the game. Another was an ill-advised throw into traffic in the middle of the field near the end of the game.

The only completion on the three went for -1 yards, which meant Kirk was out-gained by Parker Washington despite Washington not catching a pass.

For one of the NFL's best slot receivers, 2024 has not been the start that anyone could have imagined. And Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence knows it is something that must change.

"That's something where there's opportunities where I've got to get him the ball, but we've also got to get him the ball. We've got to make that an emphasis. He's one of our best players," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said on Sunday.

"We've got to keep him involved. I'm not putting that on anyone in particular. There was opportunities for him to get the ball today where maybe I didn't get to him quick enough or didn't find him, went somewhere else with the ball, but we have to continue to give him the opportunities to make plays because we've all seen how good he is."

As Lawrence would note, Kirk isn't the only Jaguars star who has gotten off to a slow start. From Kirk to Lawrence to Travis Etienne, the Jaguars' offense and its best players have had underwhelming production through two weeks.

But, as Lawrence would say, two weeks is not the time to begin to panic.

"He's not the only one. We can't hit the panic button, but we've got to have some real conversations. We've got too good of a team to come out here and perform two weeks in a row like this," Lawrence said.

"I mean, these games are precious and you don't get them back, and we're 0-2 to start the year and it's not going to get any easier. We've got a lot of good teams in our schedule, one coming up this week. We'd better fix it quick. We can't hit the panic button at the same time. We have to stay together. We have to stay together.”

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