The inauspicious start to the Cleveland Browns 2022 preseason didn’t last on Friday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars. QB Deshaun Watson played three short series only completing one of five pass attempts for five yards.
WR Anthony Schwartz dropped two passes and center Nick Harris left the game with what seemed to be a major knee injury on the second snap of the game. D’Ernest Johnson fumbled one of his three attempts, giving the Jaguars a short field.
Jacksonville scored the first 13 points of the game with QB Trevor Lawrence tossing a touchdown pass of nine yards.
With Josh Dobbs taking over at quarterback, Cleveland’s offense rode rookie RB Jerome Ford to their first touchdown. Fellow rookie CB Martin Emerson helped the Browns take the lead with his pick six where he stole the ball from the receiver before a great return.
In the end, all of the scoring done by the visitors from Cleveland came at the hands and feet of rookies. Kicker Cade York stretched the lead to 17-13 with a 31-yard field goal before Ford got back into the action.
Dobbs scrambled away from trouble before lofting the ball to Ford for a touchdown:
𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒
#CLEvsJAX pic.twitter.com/vUf9lhhqqU
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 13, 2022
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Not everything went Ford’s way, however, as he joined Johnson with a lost fumble, after a 14-yard reception.
The Browns defense created some quality pressure throughout the night, ending up with five sacks including two by rookie DE Isaiah Thomas. CB Herb Miller added an interception to the team’s total and the Browns forced and recovered a fumble as well.
Newcomers at defensive end Isaac Rochell and USFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Chris Odom also had sacks and created havoc.
In the end, the starters that did play for Cleveland didn’t look great but the quality depth on the team showed starting in the second quarter. A win is a win, even if it doesn’t actually count.