Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence comes up short in 2nd half with season opener on the line

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Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence comes up short in 2nd half with season opener on the line

2024-09-10 05:50 Last Updated At：06:00

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence has no excuses for his season-opening performance.

Unlike many other NFL starting quarterbacks, Lawrence played plenty in the preseason. And he looked sharp along the way, leading the Jacksonville Jaguars to three touchdowns in four exhibition drives.

He was supposedly ready. It didn't show against Miami.

Lawrence completed 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in a 20-17 loss at the Dolphins on Sunday. His dozen completions were the second fewest in his professional career, and he was particularly pedestrian in the second half.

Lawrence was 3 for 7 passing for 37 yards in the final two quarters as the Jaguars failed to score and squandered a 10-point lead at the break. They came up short on all five third down conversion attempts.

“Our lack of execution offensively, it wasn’t just one person,” coach Doug Pederson said. “It really comes down to our third down conversions in this football game and not staying on the field."

The game turned on running back Travis Etienne’s fumble near the goal line late in the third quarter. Instead of extending their lead to 24-7, the Jaguars got burned by Tyreek Hill for an 80-yard score on the ensuing play and found themselves in a three-point game and with no momentum.

That’s when Lawrence was supposed to step up, take over or be the difference-maker. After all, he signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension in June that included $142 million guaranteed.

Instead, Lawrence sailed a pass over Christian Kirk’s head on one third down and was sacked on consecutive plays the following drive. The first sack was a head-scratcher because Lawrence had receivers open on second-and-10 and held the ball too long.

“I don’t have all the answers right now,” Lawrence said. “But I definitely know that we had our opportunities, and we really just didn’t take advantage of them.”

Jacksonville’s run defense was a bright spot. The Jaguars allowed 81 yards on 25 carries, with 20 of those yards coming on consecutive runs by fresh-legged backup Jeff Wilson in the fourth.

The return of defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton, the progression of third-year pro Travon Walker and the addition of veteran Arik Armstead appears to have made the Jaguars even more stout up front alongside Pro Bowler Josh Hines-Allen.

Jacksonville ranked ninth in the league against the run in 2023.

General manager Trent Baalke spent considerable resources in hopes of improving the offense’s short-yardage woes from last season. He signed two offensive linemen in free agency and was counting on 2023 third-round pick Tank Bigsby to make a jump in Year 2.

But the Jaguars showed marginal improvement against the Dolphins.

The most glaring shortcomings came on consecutive plays spanning the third and fourth quarters. Right guard Brandon Scherff got bend backward as Bigsby was stopped for no gain on third-and-1 from their 32. And then coming out of a TV timeout, Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor strangely dialed up an outside run on fourth down.

Left tackle Cam Robinson whiffed on his block, and Etienne ended up losing 2 yards.

Bigsby ran for 73 yards on 12 carries — both career highs — and nearly broke what would have been a 97-yard scamper in the third. It was the kind of performance the Jaguars expected when they drafted him out of Auburn last year.

But the rookie fumbled twice in his first 24 touches and tipped a pass that resulted in an interception in the 2023 season opener. Coaches seemingly lost faith from there, and Bigsby had to earn it back.

Right tackle Anton Harrison, a second-year pro who was stout as a rookie, struggled mightily against the Dolphins. He allowed two sacks, was penalized once and ended up being the team's lowest-graded lineman, according to Pro Football Focus.

It was one of the more surprising developments from the season opener. Harrison is considered the team’s starting left tackle beginning in 2025.

CB Tyson Campbell, who was sidelined six games last season, will “miss some time” after injuring his left hamstring in the fourth quarter, Pederson said. Pederson added that Campbell will be week to week.

6 — number of losses to former Houston QB Deshaun Watson, who will start for Cleveland on Sunday. Watson went 6-0 as a starter against Jacksonville during his time in Houston.

The Jaguars need more offensive consistency, and maybe it starts with less secrecy regarding whether Pederson or Taylor is calling plays.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Trump appeals for Qatar's help in persuading Iran to give up its nuclear program

2025-05-15 07:50 Last Updated At：08:00

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — President Donald Trump urged Qatar on Wednesday to use its influence over Iran to persuade the country's leadership to reach an agreement with the U.S. to dial back its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Trump, who is visiting the Gulf nation as part of a three-country Mideast swing, made the appeal during a state dinner held in his honor by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Qatar, over the years, has played the role of intermediary between the U.S. and Iran and its proxies, including during talks with Tehran-backed Hamas as its 19-month war with Israel grinds on.

“I hope you can help me with the Iran situation,” Trump said during remarks at the formal dinner. “It’s a perilous situation, and we want to do the right thing."

The appeal to Qatar came after Trump told leaders at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting earlier Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that he wants “to make a deal," but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the Mideast as part of any potential agreement.

The U.S. and Iran brokered a nuclear deal in 2015, during Democrat Barack Obama's administration, in which Iran agreed to drastically reduce its stockpile of uranium and only enrich up to 3.67%. But that deal was scrapped during the first Trump administration.

Today, Iran enriches up to 60%, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels, and has enough stockpiled for multiple nuclear bombs should it choose to build them.

The Qatari emir told Fox News Channel on Wednesday night that “we agree that we want a nuclear-free region, and we cannot afford a nuclear race in that region.”

But, Al Thani said, “Iran has its right to have a nuclear — a civilian nuclear power, while not also representing any challenge or any threat for anyone in the region.” He said the issue needs to be resolved diplomatically.

The U.S. and Iran have engaged in four rounds of talks since early last month about the country's nuclear program. Trump has said that he believes brokering a nuclear deal is possible but that the window is closing.

At the state dinner, he called on Iran's leadership to “get moving" or risk the situation spiraling into a head-on conflict.

“Because things like that get started and they get out of control,” Trump said. "I’ve seen it over and over again. They go to war and things get out of control, and we’re not going to let that happen.”

Trump, in his appearance at the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh, also said that Tehran “must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons" as conditions for any deal.

The call for Iran to cease support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen comes as that proxy network has faced significant setbacks in the 19 months since Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump's remarks “deceitful" but did not directly address his demands.

Trump said that he also believed the moment was ripe “for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.” Hezbollah is severely weakened after its war last year with Israel, in which much of its top leadership was killed and after losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a conduit for Iran to send arms.

While in Riyadh, Trump also met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a face-to-face engagement with the onetime insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by U.S. forces after being captured in Iraq.

Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stormed Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.

Trump said he decided to meet with al-Sharaa after being encouraged to do so by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also pledged to lift yearslong sanctions on Syria.

The White House billed the al-Sharaa meeting as a brief “pull aside” that ended up lasting 33 minutes.

Trump told reporters that the meeting went "great" and described him as a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past.”

“He’s got a real shot at holding it together," Trump said.

Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion. He still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq. The U.S. once offered $10 million for information about his whereabouts because of his links to al-Qaida.

Al-Sharaa returned to his home country of Syria after the conflict began in 2011 and led al-Qaida’s branch called the Nusra Front. He changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and cut links with al-Qaida.

The sanctions go back to the rule of Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December, and were intended to inflict major pain on his economy.

In Qatar, Trump was greeted at the airport by Al Thani. Air Force One was escorted by Qatari F-15 jets as it neared Doha, the capital city.

As he sat down for talks at Amiri Diwan, the administrative office of the emir, Trump told the Qatari leader he was impressed with the “perfecto” marble as well as the camels that took part in the arrival ceremony.

The emir said he had high hopes for Trump's efforts with Iran and at ending the war in Gaza.

“I know that you are a man of peace,” he said. “I know that you want to bring peace to this region.”

Qatar, like the other Gulf Arab states, is an autocratic nation where political parties are banned and speech is tightly controlled.

But Qatar has also served as a valuable partner to the U.S. The country is also home to Al-Udeid Air Base, a sprawling facility that hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command.

The oil-and-gas-rich country is also in the center of a controversy over its offer to provide Trump with the gift of a luxury Boeing 747-8 that the U.S. could use as Air Force One while new versions of the plane are under construction by Boeing.

The Qatari government has said a final decision hasn’t been made. Trump has defended the idea even as critics argue it would amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government.

Trump has indicated he would refurbish the aircraft and it would later be donated to his post-White House presidential library. He says he would not use the plane once he leaves office.

Trump will head to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday for the final stop of his Mideast tour.

Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.