Houston Texans spoil NFL debuts of Urban Meyer, Trevor Lawrence with rout of Jacksonville Jaguars

HOUSTON - Jacksonville Jaguars franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence and coach Urban Meyer made the long-awaited debuts in Sunday's regular-season opener against the Houston Texans. 

But this is one they might want to forget because the Jaguars were outcoached, outplayed and never mounted much of a fight in an embarrassing 37-21 loss to Houston at NRG Stadium.  

The Jaguars looked unprepared, out of rhythm and mistake-filled. It definitely wasn't the unveiling of a new era that both an optimistic Jaguars fan base and Meyer had in mind.

Probably the worst stretch of the day came near the end of the first half. When the Texans had the ball at its own 31 and with 37 seconds remaining before halftime and the Jaguars still managed to let them score a touchdown. They couldn't stop Tyrod Taylor from connecting downfield to Brandin Cooks for a 52-yard catch before Danny Amendola scored on a 8-yard catch on a crossing route. 

It was that kind of afternoon that included the Jaguars struggling to line up correctly, avoid committing penalties and find a rhythm on both sides of the ball.

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Here are five takeaways from the game.

Trevor Lawrence has tough start

Lawrence had a few good moments, like tossing his first-ever touchdown pass early in the second quarter when he connected to tight end Chris Manhertz on a seam route in the end zone. But Lawrence didn't see much of a clean pocket and instead of looking away receivers to help move the safeties, he locked in too much, especially with DJ Chark. He often tried to force a big play, but he ended up making a bad read that resulted in a misfired pass or an interception. He threw three interceptions in all.   

Jaguars' offensive line struggles

If the unit wasn't jumping offsides, they were allowing too much penetration into the pocket to make Lawrence uncomfortable enough to move around frequently and force throws. The offensive line was the biggest question mark entering the season, and it will continue to be a point of concern from Sunday's performance.  Their failure to get much of a push led to the Jaguars' inability to extend drives throughout the game.

Jaguars can't contain Tyrod Taylor

This past week, defensive coordinator Joe Cullen put a heavy emphasis for his defense to contain veteran Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the pocket and limit his ability to make plays off the run.  They struggled big-time to follow the plan. Taylor did what he wanted to, and the Jaguars didn't have an answer. The Jaguars couldn't set the edge effectively or stay in front of Cooks when he was targeted on deep throws. With the Jaguars having outside linebackers Josh Allen and K'Lavon Chaisson come hard off the edge, it often times left  the flat open and the inside linebackers were late getting back into coverage to make a play. 

Too many drops for Jaguars' receivers

Some of Lawrence's throws sailed behind receivers, and a few times he led them too much. But there were also too many passes that bounced off the hands of receivers, especially early in the game from tight end James O'Shaughnessy, Marvin Jones Jr. and Chark — miscues that killed a few early drives.  

Big plays again sink Jaguars' defense

It didn't matter what side Cooks lined up, starting cornerbacks CJ Henderson and Shaquill Griffin struggled to keep him in front of them. Cooks was targeted seven times, and caught five passes for 132 yards.