Both the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars are 0-1, but the fashion in which they got there was quite different.
Jacksonville was a fumble at the goal line away from likely upsetting the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. By and large, they played well and let a certain win escape their grasp. Cleveland on the other hand looked dreadful from the first snap against the Dallas Cowboys. Deshaun Watson averaged just 3.8 yards per attempt, and the Browns had eight drives of three plays or fewer, and 10 drives of four plays or less.
The Browns' defense may have allowed 26 points (the Cowboys had a punt return touchdown), but it's hard to blame them after they were on the field so much in the first half. Regardless of how good the Browns' defense is, the Jaguars can use their own scheme against them and get to 1-1.
The Browns run Cover 3 more than any team in the NFL. Last year, they faced the ninth-most pass attempts out of Cover 3 and were quite good at shutting down offenses, allowing just three touchdown passes to eight interceptions out of that look. However, last week, the Cowboys and Dak Prescott had success against Cleveland's Cover 3 look. Dallas went 10-of-18 for 104 yards, which was the sixth most yards allowed out of that look in the NFL. How does this help the Jaguars? Trevor Lawrence is very good against Cover 3.
Lawrence had the second-most completions against Cover 3 in 2023 for the third-most yards in the NFL. His seven touchdowns against that particular coverage were also the second-most in the league. And this was before the upgrades at receiver and on the offensive line.
And if you're worried about Myles Garrett impacting how good Lawrence will be against these particular coverages, it's important to note that Lawrence had the second-most touchdown passes while on the move against Cover 3, trailing only Patrick Mahomes.
The Browns do have one of the best defensive units in football, but they are facing a quarterback who is very good at what they run a ton of, which could propel the Jaguars to their first win of the season.
