Jaguars' problems are mounting on offense

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars don't have the worst offense in the NFL after the first two weeks of the season.

But it's pretty close.

The Jaguars are averaging 15 points per game -- worse than all but four teams -- and 295 yards per game. They're struggling on third down and in the red zone, and one of their best playmakers -- Christian Kirk -- is hardly touching the ball. They're having issues getting playcalls in, communicating them in the huddle and breaking the huddle in time to make checks and adjustments before the play clock runs out.

In short, it's a mess.

"It's not who we are," coach Doug Pederson said after Sunday's 18-13 home loss to the Cleveland Browns . "Coaches, players work too hard during the week. Listen, that's a good defense. A really good defense. Probably one of the best in the league.

"If there's a measuring stick, then we didn't measure up very well. There's too much talent, I think. There's signs of it, but just not consistent enough."

As for how to fix a unit that was supposed to carry the team early in the season while new coordinator Ryan Nielsen's defense settled in, Pederson said there has to be some serious self-reflection and accountability, as well as just simply executing plays better.

"It just has to be an awareness, just a sense of urgency by everybody, the entire football team really when we head into these games," he said. "But I think we can maybe mix some things up and just a little more attention to detail and practice as we go each week."

Here's a breakdown of the major offensive issues -- red zone, third down, receiving and communication -- through the first two games.

Red zone

The Jaguars scored touchdowns on only half of their red zone drives (21st in the NFL) in 2023. And it's even worse in 2024: They've scored touchdowns on just three of their seven drives (42.9%) and lost a fumble on another.

They scored a touchdown on one of four red zone drives against the Browns, but the problems on Sunday went beyond that. They had first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, lost 2 yards on first down, and Trevor Lawrence threw incomplete on the next two downs (he bailed out of the pocket too early on second down and missed a chance for a TD pass) before kicking a field goal.

In the third quarter Travis Etienne Jr . was tackled for a 3-yard loss on second-and-5 from the 14, and Myles Garrett beat left tackle Cam Robinson for a sack. Cam Little 's 43-yard field goal bounced off the right upright.

In the fourth quarter Lawrence connected with Kirk on a 2-yard touchdown pass on second down, but the play was nullified by an illegal shift penalty on running back D'Ernest Johnson .

"We were in the red zone twice close, inside the 5-yard line, and didn't score," Lawrence said. "You can't do that in this league. You've got to take advantage of those opportunities."

Third-down

The Jaguars have converted five of their 19 third downs. That's only 26.3%, which ranks 28th in the NFL.

They've been particularly bad on third-and-medium (4-6 yards to go) at 0 for 5 -- tied for last in the league. Some of that plays into their red zone woes.

There's also this: Lawrence has completed 3-of-14 passes on third down and his completion percentage of 21.4% is the worst in the NFL -- significantly behind Carolina's Bryce Young (33.3%), who was benched for veteran Andy Dalton Monday.

Lawrence's completion percentage above expectation on third down is also the worst in the NFL (minus-27.6).

Receivers

Kirk has been Lawrence's most trusted pass catcher since he arrived in 2022, but through two games he has been targeted only seven times and has two catches for 29 yards. He has been credited with one drop, but there have been two other passes that hit his hands that are arguable drops.

"It's tough," Kirk said. "I want to contribute. I love this team and I want us to win more than anything. And I feel like I do a decent job of providing some help and being able to help us win and someone, the opportunities are there. It definitely hurts."

Pederson said there's nothing to read into the lack of targets for Kirk and that they're "going to continue to find ways to get Christian the football and he'll be a big part of the offense."

Tight end Evan Engram missed Sunday's game after injuring his hamstring in pregame warmups, but he had only one catch for 5 yards on four targets in the opener. Rookie Brian Thomas Jr . has eight targets, -- the second-highest on the team behind Gabe Davis (10) -- six catches for 141 yards and the only touchdown pass of the season. He's averaging 23.5 yards per catch, helped significantly by the 66-yarder he caught against the Browns, but that kind of production still warrants him being a bigger part of the offense.

Communication

On Sunday, the Jaguars twice had to call timeout because they ran out of time on plays inside the Cleveland 5-yard line. Lawrence said one of the times was his fault because they didn't have the urgency getting out of the huddle and getting up to the line of scrimmage fast enough.

Losing Engram impacted things because that changed personnel groupings 90 minutes before kickoff, and those adjustments didn't go as smoothly. But there's a general breakdown of the process that has to stop, Lawrence said.

"There's no excuses," Lawrence said.

"We've got to look at it and say, hey, is it me? Am I not communicating good enough in the huddle? Are we not getting our substitutes in fast enough? Are we not listening enough in the huddle? Are we not tight enough? Are we breaking the huddle and asking what we've got? Different things. It's on all of us. We all have to look at that and just put emphasis on communication. It's day one stuff. It's simple stuff."