BEREA — Dawand Jones said there could've been a different outcome to last Sunday's Browns opener . Maybe it wouldn't have been a complete reversal of a lopsided loss to the Dallas Cowboys, but it could've been different.
The Browns right tackle said he is thinking specifically about how his own mistakes sabotaged opportunities early against the Cowboys that made the outcome out of reach late.
"My two false starts, they messed up my rhythm," Jones told the Beacon Journal this week. "We were driving and just got to stay disciplined. That's definitely me. I blame myself. I kind of blame the game on myself. Those two drive starters, I would say, hurt you when you get back-to-back penalties in the first two drives. That's what we're doing. So I kind of blame myself on that, and I can only get better from that and piggyback on that to next week."
The miscues of which Jones speaks came at the very end of the first Browns possession and the very beginning of the second. The first turned a fourth-and-2 at the Dallas 28 into a 51-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins and a 3-0 lead.
The second came after the Browns had already lost the lead, as well as five yards of starting field position due to a penalty on the kickoff. Then Jones was called for another false start on the first play, moving them back five more yards to their own 20.
The possession ended in a punt. It was just the start of the struggles the Browns had in pre-snap penalties, three of which were attributed to Jones.
"It really wasn't bad in my opinion," Jones said. "Definitely could clean up some efforts, extraneous things, [stuff] like that. But for the most part, I mean, I feel like the line held up straight. We just got to figure out our miscues."
It's those penalties that constantly put the Browns in long-to-go situations, which puts more pressure on the passing game to get yards in chunks in order to keep the offense on the field. What it also did, though, was provide the Cowboys with more opportunity to simply focus on rushing quarterback Deshaun Watson because of the distance needed to move the chains.
That's a big reason why Dallas had a chance to sack Watson six times and hit him 17 times. It's also a situation the Browns offensive linemen want to try to avoid Sunday when they travel to Jacksonville to meet the Jaguars in a critical Week 2 matchup between two 0-1 AFC teams.
Dallas boasted a strong defensive front, led by defensive end Micah Parsons. The Jaguars, meanwhile, may have just as good, if not better, defensive line — highlighted by ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, as well as defensive tackle Arik Armstead — with which the Browns must contend this week.
"I would say that they're very similar, man," tackle James Hudson III told the Beacon Journal. "It's a talented group. They could get after the quarterback. Josh Hines-Allen almost had 20 sacks last year. Those guys get after the quarterback, man. We got to bring our A game."
Hudson started at left tackle against Dallas because Jedrick Wills Jr., as well his potential fill-in, Jack Conklin, were both inactive while still returning from knee injuries sustained last season. It was Hudson's first NFL start at the position, having played only 71 career regular-season snaps there previously.
The fourth-year pro allowed six pressures to the Cowboys, but didn't always have to deal with Parsons specifically because he was moved around a bit. Whether or not Hudson starts against the Jaguars was a topic that remained up in the air as of the end of the practice week.
Wills did return to practice Thursday after having missed it Wednesday. Conklin and Hudson both practiced all week.
"Still sort of up in the air, man," Hudson said. "We got to figure things out. See how our guys feel come game day. Whoever's going to be that guy, we got to go out there, go out there and do what we got to do."
The Jaguars sacked Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagavailoa three times in Week 1, including two by Walker, the 2022 No. 1 overall pick. Walker and Hines-Allen combined for a NFL-best 27.5 sacks a year ago, including 17.5 by Hines-Allen.
The other sack belonged to Armstead, whom Jacksonville signed as a free agent in the spring from the San Francisco 49ers. The veteran was on a pitch count of sorts in Week 1 after having battled an training camp injury, but Jaguars coach Doug Pederson indicated this week Armstead's snaps would go up Sunday.
"They got two excellent pass rushes off the edge with Josh Hines-Allen and Trayvon Walker," Jones said, "and so we want to spread those guys. And it is the same way as last week — respect the rushers and respect the interior guys and just make sure you block them."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns offensive line 'just got to figure out' miscues with Jaguars defensive line up next
Local News
Comments / 0