Jaguars vs. Browns: Trevor Lawrence Throws Four TDs as Jacksonville Buries Cleveland in Week 1

Parker Washington went fully horizontal for a 30-yard touchdown on Jacksonville's first possession, then flashed a "pay me" sign at the crowd. Bold negotiating tactic for a pending free agent still hashing out a deal with his own front office. It was also the most accurate forecast of the afternoon: every Jaguar who touched the ball looked like a man auditioning for a raise, and the Cleveland Browns got stuck with the bill.

Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes, Jacksonville scored on six of its first seven possessions, and the Jaguars flattened the Browns 34-10 on Sunday at EverBank Stadium. It was 24-0 at halftime and 34-3 when Lawrence got to take a seat with 8:12 left. Todd Monken's debut as Cleveland's head coach stayed competitive for exactly one drive.

One Good Drive, Then a Teal Avalanche

The cruel part is that the Browns came out swinging. Their opening possession covered 32 yards in five plays and looked like the work of a staff that spent all summer scripting it. Then Deshaun Watson, making his first start in nearly two years, threw an interception to Foyesade Oluokun at the Jacksonville 19, and the good vibes left the building.

Monken diagnosed it better than any of us could. "We did exactly what we wanted to start the game," he said. "We're going to try to put them on their heels and then we turn it over. And then we couldn't get a first down to get our defense off the field. That is a recipe to get run out of the arena."

Cleveland got run out of the arena. Washington's diving score capped an eight-play, 59-yard answer. Lawrence hit rookie Josh Cameron from 4 yards out to finish a nine-play, 74-yard march, and it was 14-0 after one quarter. Cam Little drilled a 47-yarder in the second. When KC Concepcion fumbled and Josh Hines-Allen recovered, Jacksonville needed five plays to cash it in, with Lawrence finding Brenton Strange for 14 yards and a 24-0 lead. Per the Jaguars, those 24 first-half points set a franchise record for a regular-season opener.

The second half opened like a rerun: four plays, 60 yards and a 32-yard Lawrence strike to Jakobi Meyers. Cleveland's only real juice came from Raheim Sanders, whose 74-yard kickoff return set up an Andre Szmyt field goal, and from a 46-yard Watson touchdown to Denzel Boston with 1:52 left. In between, the Browns spent 8:36 on a 14-play drive that ended on downs. That's not a comeback. That's a podcast episode with no payoff.

Trevor Lawrence, Cheat Codes Enabled

Lawrence went 18 of 23 for 245 yards, four touchdowns and zero picks, good for a 150.6 passer rating that the AP listed as a career high. He averaged 10.7 yards per attempt and spread the scores across four pass catchers: Washington, Cameron, Strange and Meyers. According to the team, that makes him just the second quarterback in franchise history to throw touchdowns to four different receivers in one game, joining Blake Bortles in September 2018.

The AP noted that three of the four scorers were wide open, which tells you plenty about a Browns defense breaking in new coordinator Mike Rutenberg and playing its first season without five-time All-Pro Myles Garrett, who was traded in the offseason.

"It was awesome," Lawrence said. "Guys were ready to play."

Washington led everybody with five catches for 83 yards, and Bhayshul Tuten handled the dirty work with 66 yards on 15 carries. The defense sacked Watson five times. Hines-Allen had 1.5 of them plus the fumble recovery, Ventrell Miller piled up 10 tackles and a sack, and Branson Combs got home once too.

"I thought our defense played phenomenal," coach Liam Coen said.

The Pick That Popped the Balloon

If you want the one snap that decided this, rewind to the start. Cleveland was moving, Watson had a chance to set the tone, and Oluokun took the ball away instead. The Browns didn't reach the end zone again until the outcome was a formality.

What followed was a slow-motion collapse. Cleveland went 1 for 8 on third down and 0 for 2 in the red zone, and it was flagged 11 times for 75 yards. Watson came in 7-0 as a starter against Jacksonville, a run the AP said included wins at home, on the road and in London. That streak was functionally over by the end of the first quarter.

The Numbers Don't Need a Hype Man

• 150.6: Lawrence's passer rating, a career best per the AP.
• 24-0: the halftime score, a franchise record for first-half points in an opener, per the Jaguars.
• 5: sacks of Watson, who also nearly threw a second interception on Cleveland's next series.
• 1 for 8: the Browns on third down. Drives went there to die.
• 33:51: Jacksonville's time of possession, against 26:09 for Cleveland.

Jacksonville Means Business, Cleveland Means Patience

The Jaguars spent seven months stewing over a three-point playoff loss to Buffalo, then opened what the AP framed as one of the most anticipated seasons in team history by looking exactly like the trendy contender everyone pegged them as. With Houston, Indianapolis and Tennessee all losing, Jacksonville sits alone atop the AFC South after one week, per the team. The reward is a trip to Denver.

There's some fine print. Defensive end B.J. Green was ruled out at halftime with an elbow injury, and Brian Thomas Jr. briefly went to the locker room with a shoulder issue before returning. On the bright side, right tackle Cole Van Lanen started eight months after knee surgery and played the first half.

For Cleveland, this was the rebuild in its rawest form. Running back Dylan Sampson was ruled out in the first half with a knee injury, and Watson sounded more honest than defiant afterward.

"But it's the NFL; it doesn't go that way all the time," Watson said. "You play and you learn."

The Browns visit Tampa Bay next Sunday, which at least offers a change of scenery.

The Contract Year Starts Now

Washington asked for money with his hands. Lawrence co-signed with his arm. Somewhere in the Jaguars' offices, a calculator is warming up. If this was the cold open of Jacksonville's season, it came with a prestige-TV score, and the rookie already wrote the tagline.

"We're just getting started," Cameron said.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and Jaguars.com.