CLEVELAND, Ohio – Neither was a road winning streak.

Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars' starting quarterback, played through a high-ankle sprain against the NFL's No. 1 defense. But a gutty effort by the Jaguars' quarterback – and by an injured Jaguars roster – fell short in a 31-27 loss to a physical, resilient Cleveland Browns team at Cleveland Browns Stadium Sunday afternoon.

"It just was not one of our cleaner games," Lawrence said. "Too many mistakes, penalties, missed opportunities, missed throws … just not playing sound football."

The Jaguars committed four turnovers, including three interceptions thrown by Lawrence.

"Walking off the field, you felt like we missed so many opportunities and left a lot out there and really just shot ourselves in the foot over and over," he said, with Head Coach Doug Pederson saying:

"I think offensively we were a little disconnected."

Added Pederson, "We just had too many self-inflicted wounds."

Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins' 55-yard field with 3:10 remaining pushed the Browns' lead to 31-21. Jaguars tight end Evan Engram's two-yard touchdown reception made it, 31-27, with 1:35 remaining and Browns wide receiver James Proche recovered the ensuing onside kick to secure the victory.

Lawrence, playing six days after sustaining a high-ankle sprain in a loss to Cincinnati Sunday, started and played the entire game. He completed 28 of 50 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions.

The Jaguars turned three takeaways into 14 points, with their two touchdown drives before the fourth quarter covering 37 total yards. Lawrence's 19-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Parker Washington capped a 75-yard drive – the Jaguars' longest of the game to that point – and pulled the Jaguars to within 28-21 with 8:52 remaining.

The Jaguars had one possession trailing 28-21 with a chance to tie. Lawrence threw incomplete to wide receiver Zay Jones on fourth-and-three from the Jaguars 38 with 3:30 remaining.

"We were in many positions to tie the game and then take over the game; we didn't do it," said Engram, who caught 11 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

The loss snapped the Jaguars' franchise-record eight-game road winning streak. They were 5-0 on the road this season entering Sunday.

The Jaguars produced 293 yards against a Browns defense that entered No. 1 in the NFL overall. The Browns forced four Jaguars turnovers.

The AFC South-leading Jaguars (8-5) lost a second consecutive game. The Browns (8-5) snapped a two-game losing streak.

The Jaguars maintained a one-game lead in the AFC South with four regular-season games remaining, with the Indianapolis Colts (7-6) losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati Sunday and the Houston Texans (7-6) losing on the road to the New York Jets.

"We have to move on and we have to go get it," Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen said. "We have a tough four-game stretch. We're excited about it. I'm excited about it."

Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, making his second start for the Browns, completed 26 of 45 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns with one interception Sunday.

The Jaguars registered three takeaways with one sack Sunday, with cornerback Darious Williams intercepting Flacco early in the second quarter. Linebacker Devin Lloyd and defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter also recovered fumbles for the Jaguars, with Lloyd's recovery leading to a second-quarter touchdown and Ledbetter's recovery leading to a third-quarter touchdown.

Rookie safety Antonio Johnson's sack forced the fumble that Ledbetter recovered.

Step-by-Step:

• A 34-yard reception by tight end David Njoku from Flacco capped a six-play, 75-yard drive on the game's opening possession for a 7-0 Browns lead with 11:39 remaining in the first quarter.
• Njoku's 30-yard reception from Flacco capped the Browns' first drive of the second quarter, giving the Browns a 14-0 lead with 13:40 remaining in the first half. After the Jaguars' defense forced two second-quarter takeaways, Lawrence's 10-yard pass to Engram capped a two-play, 12-yard drive and cut the lead to 14-7 with 6:14 remaining in the second quarter; Lloyd returned a fumble 12 yards to set up the drive.
• Running back Kareem Hunt's four-yard run pushed the Browns' lead to 21-7 with 9:39 remaining in the third quarter; the touchdown came 22 yards and seven plays after Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. forced and recovered a fumble by Washington. Running back Travis Etienne Jr.'s one-yard run with 4:59 remaining cut the lead to 21-14; Ledbetter recovered Flacco's fumble at the Browns 25 after Johnson's sack to set up the score.
• Flacco's 41-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Davis Bell pushed the Cleveland lead to two touchdowns with 12:34 remaining, with Lawrence's 19-yard touchdown pass to Washington cutting it back to seven with 8:52 remaining.

Notable:

• Defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi (heel) was among three Jaguars starters inactive Sunday with the others being cornerback Tyson Campbell (quadricep and left tackle Walker Little (hamstring). All three players missed with injuries sustained against the Bengals. The Jaguars' other inactives Sunday: Cornerback Tre Herndon (concussion), outside linebacker Yasir Adbullah, tight end Brenton Strange (foot) and quarterback Nathan Rourke. Rourke was signed to the active roster from the practice squad Saturday and was designated the team's third-team emergency quarterback for Sunday.

Injury Report:

• Left tackle Ezra Cleveland sustained a second-quarter knee injury; he started Sunday for Little, who had been starting for Cam Robinson; Blake Hance played left tackle for Cleveland Sunday. Safety Andre Cisco sustained a groin injury in the second half.