JACKSONVILLE – This one slipped away quickly.
The Detroit Lions took an early lead, and the Jaguars – with a struggling offense, a struggling defense and two first-half turnovers – never could recover.
Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II completed 25 of 44 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown Sunday. He also lost a fumble and threw an interception, with the Lions pulling away and holding on for a 34-16 victory over the Jaguars in front of 14,513 at TIAA Bank Field.
"We all know we have to do better," Minshew said. "There's not a guy out there dressed that can't do a better job. At the end of the day, we all have to raise our game up a little bit and that will get us where we want to go."
The Jaguars lost their fifth consecutive game, having allowed 30 or more points in each loss. They beat the Indianapolis Colts, 27-20, in Week 1.
The Lions are 2-3.
"It's all a team effort," Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone said. "Like I told the team, 'We all have to do a better job.' We dug ourselves into this hole. We're not playing very well. We're not making plays at critical times in the game.
"We're falling behind trying to play catchup too early and not making plays early enough to keep the game within one score. We're all able to see that. It becomes a point of frustration and one that you have to work through, and that's what we'll continue to do."
Lions running back D'Andre Swift rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and his 54-yard run in the first quarter keyed an early Lions run that gave Detroit a 17-3 lead it never relinquished. Minshew's interception came in the second quarter, as did a fumble on which Lions defensive end Trey Flowers stripped the ball away on a play inside Lions territory just after the two-minute warning.
"Any time you play a game like that and you just walk away feeling that you beat yourself, that's super frustrating," Minshew said. "Talk about a disciplined team that beat themselves, we feel like we beat ourselves today and we just can't do that."
Lions quarterback Matt Stafford completed 19 of 31 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown with an interception, and Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay caught four passes for 106 yards.
Jaguars wide receiver Keelan Cole caught six passes for a game-high 143 yards.
The Jaguars defense did not register a sack for the first time this season. Middle linebacker Joe Schobert intercepted Lions quarterback Matt Stafford early in the second half, but the Jaguars' offense failed to score after taking possession at the 20.
"You're disappointed," Schobert said. "You put so much work into this, not just during the week but in the offseason coming through. While disappointed, I think the group is still together and everybody's working towards the same goal. Everybody understands the message and we'll be right back to work on Tuesday."
Step by step:
*Running back Adrian Peterson's one-yard run capped a 50-yard drive on the Lions' first series and gave Detroit a 7-0 lead with 7:37 remaining in the first quarter; Stafford keyed the drive with a 17-yard scramble on 3rd-and-7 from the Jaguars 37. Jaguars rookie kicker Jon Brown converted his first NFL field-goal attempt from 31 yards on the ensuing series to make it 7-3; Minshew passed 35 yards to Cole on the series' second play.
*Swift's one-yard run pushed the lead to 14-3 with 13:41 remaining in the second quarter, with his 54-yard run to the Jaguars 21 late in the first quarter setting up the touchdown. A missed 57-yard field goal try by Lions kicker Matt Prater with 11:12 remaining in the half kept the Jaguars within 11; Lions safety Duron Harmon set up that opportunity by intercepting a long pass from Minshew to wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. on the first play of the previous series. Brown missed from 32 yards on the ensuing possession to keep the lead at 11, and a 31-yard field goal by Prater with 1:53 remaining pushed the Lions' lead to 17-3 with 1:53 remaining in the half. Flowers' forced fumble on Minshew came on the ensuing series and kept the lead at 14 at halftime.
*The Lions pushed the lead to 24-3 with a one-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to tight end T.J. Hockenson, capping a drive that came after the Jaguars went four-and-out on a drive that started at the Lions 20 after Schobert's interception; a 48-yard pass from Stafford to Golladay gave the Lions a first down at the Jaguars 6. The Jaguars cut the lead to 24-10 when Minshew scrambled for a six-yard touchdown with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter.
*Swift's six-yard run with 13:32 remaining in the fourth quarter pushed the Lions' lead to 31-10, and Prather then converted from 41 yards with 8:11 remaining. A 16-yard touchdown from Minshew to Robinson cut the lead to 34-16 with 5:18 remaining.
Notable: Josh Allen missed a second consecutive game for the Jaguars Sunday. Allen, a second-year defensive end and a Pro Bowl selection last season, missed Sunday's game with a knee injury after missing last week's loss to the Houston Texans with the same issue. The Jaguars' other five inactive players Sunday were defensive tackle Abry Jones (ankle/hamstring), rookie quarterback Jake Luton, wide receiver Dede Westbrook, defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale and rookie cornerback Luq Barcoo. … Kamaila Correa started at strong-side linebacker after being acquired by the Jaguars in a trade with Tennessee this past week, and rookie DaVon Hamilton started at nose tackle for Jones with rookie K'Lavon Chaisson starting at defensive end for Allen. … When Brown made a 31-yard field goal in the first quarter, the Jaguars became the first team since the 1970 merger to have a different kicker try a field goal or extra point in five consecutive games; it was Brown's first NFL kick – and first kick of any kind in a football game.
Injury report: Jaguars right guard A.J. Cann sustained a shoulder injury in the first quarter and did not return; rookie Ben Bartch played in his place. … Jaguars tight end Tyler Eifert sustained a neck injury in the second quarter and did not return. … Jaguars safety Jarrod Wilson sustained a third-quarter hamstring injury. … Linebacker Myles Jack left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.
What's next: The Jaguars will play Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.
