Coming off a 13-4 season in which they won the AFC South division, the Jaguars will be back in action at EverBank Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m. in a season-opening contest against the Cleveland Browns.
Jacksonville is 16-15 on opening day and will play its Week 1 matchup at home for the second consecutive year. Last season, the Jaguars opened their bounce-back campaign with a 26-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Their roster is headlined by captains QB Trevor Lawrence, OL Robert Hainsey, WR Jakobi Meyers, DE Josh Hines-Allen, LB Foyesade Oluokun, CB Jourdan Lewis, P Logan Cooke and LS Ross Matiscik. All but Meyers and Matiscik represented the Jaguars as captains in 2025 as well.
Strong, efficient quarterback play will be the key for both teams to succeed in their season opener.
Lawrence is coming off a 4,007-yard, 29-touchdown, 12-interception season in which he completed 341 of 560 passes for a 60.9% completion percentage. He also rushed for 359 yards and nine touchdowns on 82 carries.
If Lawrence can get involved with his legs Sunday, it could lead to valuable chunk yardage and a strong ability to move the chains against a Cleveland defense that will line up without defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and 2025 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett — both of whom left the Browns this offseason.
In addition, returning offensive weapons Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. will see action for the first time since Jacksonville’s season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills in January. None of the three saw action during the Jaguars’ three-game preseason slate, but they accounted for nearly half of Jacksonville’s receiving yards in 2025, even with Meyers joining midseason.
Though he was a limited participant in practice this week with a thumb injury, Meyers is trending toward playing in the opener and would fill out Jacksonville’s three-headed monster at receiver. He led the Jaguars’ receiving corps in yards per game in 2025, averaging 53.7.
“He’s definitely taken a step in his understanding of the system,” head coach Liam Coen said. “The rapport between he, Trevor, and then Parker, BT [Brian Thomas Jr.] and those guys has been amplified throughout the entire offseason program.”
However, Lawrence was sacked a career-high 41 times in 2025, highlighting the needed improvement of Jacksonville’s offensive line.
Whether the offensive line made significant strides through the offseason will be on full display with second-year running back Bhayshul Tuten slated for his first NFL start. As a rookie, he took 83 carries for 307 yards and five touchdowns while adding 79 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions. With Travis Etienne Jr.’s departure for New Orleans, Tuten is poised to handle the majority of the backfield’s workload Sunday.
“When he just sticks his foot in the ground and goes, good things usually happen,” Coen said. “When he is playing decisive and firm and doesn’t second-guess himself or overthink it, that’s where I’ve seen some growth out of him, and really schematically as well.”
For Cleveland, Deshaun Watson will get the nod over Shadeur Sanders and Taylen Green, playing his first game since the 2024 season.
Through three seasons with the Browns (2022-24), Watson has appeared in just 19 games, tossing 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was also sacked 33 times through seven games in 2024, limiting his production.
Though he has some offensive weapons such as veteran receiver Jerry Jeudy, second-year tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and rookie receiver KC Conception at his disposal, his lack of playing time since October of 2024 raises concern for Cleveland’s offense. However, the Browns will look to exploit a Jacksonville defense that allowed 218 passing yards per game in 2025.
Nonetheless, if the Jaguars can display physical, dominant trench play and effectively limit second-year running back Quinshon Judkins, it’ll likely be a long afternoon for Watson and Co.
Defensive linemen Travon Walker, Hines-Allen, DaVon Hamilton and Arik Armstead all returned to Jacksonville for 2026. Those four, plus Jacksonville’s leading tackler in 2025, linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, are looking to build off a season in which they held opponents to a league-leading 85.6 rushing yards per game.
With Lewis and second-year WR/CB Travis Hunter both returning from season-ending injuries they suffered in 2025, the Jaguars are prepared to establish a strong defensive identity ahead of Coen’s second year with the reins in Jacksonville.
“It may not always be perfect, but it does have to be violent and it does have to be physical,” Coen said.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is a senior sports journalism student in his sixth semester at The Alligator. He is currently a sports editor and football beat reporter for the Gators and the Jaguars. He previously served as a men's tennis and sports enterprise reporter, and he is pursuing a public relations minor.
