JACKSONVILLE – Each week during the 2024 season, Jaguars "experts" – Tony Boselli, Frank Frangie, Jeff Lageman, Brent Martineau, John Oehser, Brian Sexton, J.P. Shadrick and Kainani Stevens – will analyze the following day's Jaguars matchup.
Up this week: The Cleveland Browns at EverBank Stadium.
Tony Boselli, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Former Jaguars Left Tackle and Jaguars Analyst
- The Jaguars will win if: They don't give any gifts to the Browns' offense by turning over the ball, giving them short fields and additional possessions. The challenge will be for the Jaguars' offensive line to control and contain the impact of the Browns defense, specifically Garrett. Defensively, the Jags need to stop the run and force Watson, who's playing poorly, to beat them.
- The Browns will win if: They dominate the line of scrimmage, creating havoc and forcing multiple turnovers. The Browns have to win the turnover margin if they are going to have a chance to win this game. Offensively, they need the Texans version of Watson to show up. They were atrocious Week One versus the Cowboys and are going to be desperate to find a win.
- As Boselli sees it: This is going to be a physical game, and matching the physicality of the Browns defense is going to be critical. After a Week One loss in which the Jags blew an opportunity, I believe they will come out super-focused and ready to play a full 60 minutes. I think the Jags get it done, 17-10, and win their home opener.
Frank Frangie, Radio Voice of the Jaguars
- The Jaguars will win if: They play defense and with the offensive efficiency they did during the first three quarters in Miami. The sudden change situation — the Etienne fumble and quick Miami score right after— was a gut punch and Jacksonville never quite recovered. But the Jags are good. The key in this game will be more receivers involved — more Christian Kirk and Evan Engram and definitely more of the emerging rookie, Brian Thomas Jr. Even without Campbell, the defense needs to continue rotating players, staying fresh, and harassing a struggling Watson. The formula against Miami was a good one.
- The Browns will win if: Watson plays much better. It's that simple. They must get after Lawrence and they have the defensive front to do it. Cleveland must make it a defensive game.
- As Frangie sees it: The Jags are the better team, are at home, and will be fired up after letting one get away last week. Play a good, clean game and the Jags should win.
Jeff Lageman, Jaguars Analyst and Former Jaguars Defensive End
- The Jaguars will win if: They can protect the football and block Garrett. The Jaguars' offense turned the ball over only one time in Miami, but it sent them into a tailspin as a team. Garrett can be a one-man wrecking ball in the aggressive Jim Schwartz defense. He can't be stopped, but must be contained. The Jaguar tackles need to play better than they did in Miami.
- The Browns will win if: Watson can perform like he did when he played for the Houston Texans years ago. He has two talented wide receivers in Jerry Jeudy and Amari Cooper that will test cornerback Tyson Campbell's replacement. The Browns' offensive line is injured and missing pieces – and it must to perform at a higher level than it did in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.
- As Lageman sees it: This is a tough game against what was the NFL's No. 1 defense a year ago, a defense that in December intercepted Lawrence three times. Schwartz and Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson know each other well and will battle wits for 60 minutes. The Jaguars defense needs to get to Watson early to keep him in the same funk he was in Week 1. This will be a low-scoring affair that could come down to a special teams play to get the win.
Brent Martineau, Action Sports Jax Sports Director
- The Jaguars will win if they: They win the turnover margin. This is kind of the rule in the NFL, but it was the reason the Jags lost Sunday and a big reason they lost last December in Cleveland. The Jags have to convert their opportunities and maximize their possessions against a stingy Browns defense.
- The Browns will win if: The Browns will win if Watson finds some of his Texans magic. The Jaguars want to make sure Watson stays struggling and if they do that, Jacksonville should win the game. Watson can't lean on Chubb because he's out of this game and so is Njoku. Watson will need his offensive line to be better after surrendering six sacks and 17 quarterback hits against Dallas.
- As Martineau sees it: A week ago was very disappointing but it doesn't change my mind that the Jaguars are a good football team. Good football teams bounce back. Good football teams win at home. The Jaguars get it done Sunday, but it won't be easy. It will be a 23-13 win.
John Oehser, jaguars.com Senior Writer
- The Jaguars will win if they: Pressure Watson and convert third downs effectively. A pressuring defense should force Watson into sacks and mistakes, and converting third downs will give what should be a potent offense more time to create big plays and points. Also: The Jaguars must make key plays late. That's a familiar refrain, but they won't win consistently until they start doing that.
- The Browns will win if: Win on the defensive front. With Garrett, the Browns can dominate any game defensively. If the Jaguars can't keep Garrett from wrecking the game in key moments, they could quickly be 0-2.
- As Oehser sees it: This is a game the Jaguars can and should win. The defensive front is supposed to be a team strength and this offense – with Lawrence in his third season in this offense and with capable skill players everywhere – should convert third downs enough to score enough to beat Cleveland. This is a big game for the Jaguars. They must prove they can respond to the disappointment of Week 1.
Brian Sexton, jaguars.com Senior Correspondent
- The Jaguars will win if: Their defensive line takes over. The Browns are physical, and are excellent in the middle of their offensive line, but both starting tackles are injured. The Dallas Cowboys held Browns running back Jerome Ford to just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt in Week 1 and Dallas sacked Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson six times. That's the game-plan for success on Sunday – to set the tempo against an offense without running back Nick Chubb and tight end David Njoku, and to make life difficult on a quarterback who doesn't look anything like the guy that went 6-0 against the Jaguars when he started against them in Houston.
- The Browns will win if: Defensive end Myles Garrett has his way with Cam Robinson and Anton Harrison. Neither Jaguars offensive tackle had a stellar start in Miami and it doesn't get easier this week against a guy known as the "grim reaper." He's a blend of size, strength, speed and length – and his 88.5 sacks over the last seven seasons is second in the NFL only to T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he's more than a pass rusher. Garrett is a game wrecker and if the Jaguars struggle to contain him then it's easy to see Z'Darius Smith and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah taking advantage of the situation and causing even more problems for Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
- As Sexton sees it: This is a really important game for the home team, and the Jaguars won't miss their opportunity. They were just one play from this past week being entirely different. Had Dolphins safety Jevon Holland not made a great play to punch the ball away from running back Travis Etienne Jr., we would be focused more on how way the defense shined against the Dolphins – and the long drives and big plays that the offense produced. I see a Jaguars win and hopefully we see a team that starts to win the close games instead of losing them.
J.P. Shadrick, jaguars.com Senior Reporter
- The Jaguars will win if: They can slow down the pass rush of the Browns led by Garrett. The rest of the defense is a strong unit also, including Owusu-Koramoah. First-down success will be huge for this Jaguars team. Get to second-and-4, because as we saw last week late in the game, second-and-10 led to third-and-10 (or longer).
- The Jaguars will win if: They force Watson into bad decisions, and the Jaguars run effectively throughout the day. Watson likely will be without his top tight end target, and he will be under the microscope this week leading into Week 2. How he handles criticism will be big to watch. Watson has won all six starts against the Jags in his career, but the last was in the 2020 season. We will see if times have changed.
- As Shadrick sees it: This should be a classic set up for a bounce-back game for the Jaguars, but this is the NFL and we saw how fast "should bes" can change only last week. The Browns must come down to the Florida heat to face a Jags team that has heard all week about how they literally dropped the ball Week 1. It's waaaay too early for "must wins," however, the Jaguars really could use this one with road trips to Buffalo and Houston up next.
Kainani Stevens, Jaguars Team Reporter
- The Jaguars will win if: They can get themselves over the mental hurdles of last week's loss. This is a talented team that did a lot of things right against Miami, but the Jaguars allowed one mistake to define the day for them. A few early scores for the offense and stops on defense will go a long way towards securing a victory.
- The Browns will win if: They strike first and gain an early lead. The Jaguars have been unable to successfully respond to adversity since maybe the beginning of last season. If Cleveland goes up two scores early, I'm not convinced the Jags will be able to mount a comeback win.
- As Stevens sees it: The Jaguars schedule does not get any easier from here. They need to take advantage of a bea-tup Cleveland team and get themselves their first win of the season. Dare I say it, but this is a "must-win" game for me.