Jaguars beat Cowboys 28-23 in Week 1 of 2023

Arlington, Tex. – Not everything was perfect, but it certainly wasn’t bad overall.

This was the first week of 2023 before the Jaguars’ first season — and for the rookies in their first action of the season against another team, they left with an eight-point lead in what became a 28-23 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in front of 81,204 announced. at AT&T Stadium on Saturday night.

“Some things are good and some things are bad, obviously,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. “Overall, there are a lot of things to clean up, but there are some positives that we will look at and build on.”

The Jaguars’ first offense left Saturday’s game with 3:46 seconds left in the first quarter, taking an 8-0 lead after a short drive for their third — and final — series.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed five of six passes for 36 yards on three series. He threw an interception deep down the left sideline on his first pass of the game and threw scores on his last two attempts of the game.

“When there are points on the board you want to win those games,” said Lawrence. “Obviously it doesn’t count for your regular season record, but just from a team morale standpoint, it’s good.”

As the Jaguars defense left the game late in the first quarter, the Cowboys shut up on two series and scored a sack.

The early eight-point lead came with the help of a huge special team when wide receiver Tim Jones forced an error from Cowboys punt returner Ka Vontae Turpin that Gregory Jr. recovered at the Dallas 42.

Lawrence capped off a six-game drive on the ensuing possession—the team’s final first offense of the night—with a nine-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk. The veteran receiver was crossing in the back of the end zone and opened up after Lawrence got good protection on a 4th-and-3 play.