'Embarrassing': Jaguars lay an egg against Lions, fall 40-14 in pivotal matchup

DETROIT — Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence didn't mince words when asked about the team's "embarrassing" 40-14 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

"We just got our ass kicked," Lawrence quipped.

Jacksonville scored just three times Sunday, two field goals and a touchdown while surrendering all scores on all eight drives by the Lions — four field goals and four touchdowns.

"We’ve got to lick our wounds and we’ve got two days to figure it out," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game.

"We’ve got a division opponent next week and nobody’s going to feel sorry for us, and so we’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves, we’re going to go to work and we’re going to get things cleaned up."

More game coverage:

• Game recap: A look back at Jaguars vs. Lions

• Takeaways: Jaguars shut down in Motown, fall 40-14 to Detroit Lions

• Brief injury scare: Trevor Lawrence hurt but returns vs. Detroit Lions

Detroit dominated the game in every sense of the word.

"I mean, that’s the word to describe it, it’s embarrassing," Lawrence said. "Everybody in that locker room feels that way too, just to — I mean, this is a playoff game for us and we go out there and laid down. Credit to them, those guys, those guys whooped us."

With the loss, Jacksonville failed to rise up the AFC South leaderboard and remain behind the Tennessee Titans (7-5) and the Indianapolis Colts (4-7-1). Sunday was an opportunity to improve, and instead, they laid an egg, Lawrence said, something the team cannot afford to do.

"We’ve lost eight games this year, and never have I felt like we got embarrassed like we did today. That can’t happen. We’ve got more pride and work too hard to do that."

Suspense hung in the air at the end of the first half after Lawrence went down due to what Pederson later described as a "lower leg/foot" injury.

Lawrence was able to walk into the locker room under his own power and didn't miss any time due to an injury during the contest. He finished the game by completing 17 of 31 total passes for 179 yards and a TD.

"I thought it was my knee at first, and then my foot a little bit was hurting too. Luckily, nothing serious. We’ll have to see how I feel tomorrow," Lawrence said, adding that he feels better than what he thought he would, though he will be sore tomorrow.

'Back to the drawing board': Jaguars show lack of energy, have no answers in rout

There wasn't a lack of effort from the Jaguars. The team simply lacked any sense of urgency and energy as it took to Ford Field. It was a complete 180 from what Jacksonville showed last week in its 28-27 stunning victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

"We just didn't have the energy that we came up with last week and, you know, just tough," Jaguars offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor said in the locker  "We couldn't get going offensively. I thought we just couldn't get going as a team, as a whole."

Taylor said the team needs to take it personally over the remaining five games of the season in order to make sure the energy rises to the occasion moving forward.

"It's embarrassing to go out after having a great week of practice and preparation and going out and not getting the win and getting beat bad like this. So, we just got to go back to the drawing board."

Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen echoed Taylor's sentiments about the team's energy, or lack thereof, noting that the team has to pick it up, and "we gotta go," on offense, defense and special teams.

"I think we didn't come out with any energy. I think, just this whole environment was just really dead from the beginning," said Allen.

The Lions didn't relent on offense Sunday. Lions quarterback Jared Goff passed for 340 yards and two touchdowns after completing 31 of 41 passes.

"My hat's off to him," Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins said of Goff's performance. "He literally went out there and he did exactly what he was supposed to do. He hit every throw, he was very poised back there. He looked comfortable."

Jenkins said that it was tough to get into a groove because of how much clock the Lions were able to eat up after "dragging" the defense up and down the field. The Lions finished with 36:50 seconds time of possession on Sunday.

They totaled 31 first downs while converting eight out of 12 third downs. The Lions drove up and down the field. Jacksonville ultimately gave up 11 receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns to receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, while surrendering five catches for 98 yards to former Jaguars WR D.J. Chark Jr.

Lions running back D'Andre Swift had one of his best performances of the season, rushing for 62 yards on 14 carries, while catching four passes for 98 yards.

"I've never been a part of that," said Jenkins about the Lions not punting the ball away a single time on Sunday, something Allen echoed earlier during the media session.

Pederson said after the game that he wouldn't get involved in defensive game planning when asked if he would after Sunday's performance.

"We’ve just got to have conversations and be open and we’ve all got to be honest with what we’re doing and making sure we’ve got the right guys in the right spots," Pederson said.

'We were not ready': Jaguars offense struggles to move ball

Jacksonville's struggles as a team and on defense resonated with the team's offense, too. The Jaguars did very little with its 23:10 time of possession on Sunday.

It was doomed from the start, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson implied to open his post-game press conference.

"We just were not — we were not ready, even — we turned the ball over on the second play of the game which can’t happen," Pederson said, referencing running back Travis Etienne fumbling the football on his second play of the game.

Jacksonville's offense also dropped the football five times during the contest. It's something that was uncharacteristic from the players, Pederson said.

"I mean, that’s uncharacteristic of our guys, part of the struggles on offense, on third down," said Pederson. "Too many third-and-long scenarios, and that’s a good pressure team on third-and-long and we just didn’t do enough today to stay out of those situations.”

Jacksonville converted just three third downs on 12 opportunities Sunday. That's good for 25 percent and ties the team's lowest third-down conversion percentage of the season (Week 1).

Jaguars wide receiver Zay Jones led the team on Sunday with three of the five drops. Evan Engram was second with two on the day.

After the game, Jones didn't mince words when asked about the team's performance.

"Dude, it just sucked today, to be honest. I definitely could have played better. I don't have all the answers right now," Jones said in the locker room a week after setting career highs in receptions and yards in a game.

"Just it hurts, because we put a lot of time into it. Dudes have been battling through injuries and battling through a lot of things. Not an excuse or anything, to put on that type of performance, it's not good enough."

As for his personal performance, Jones took responsibility, calling his performance "very underwhelming."

"I take responsibility for my lack of play, it did not help our team," said Jones. "I thought on the critical third down, [it was] not like myself to just take my eye off the ball like that. And it hurt me a lot because I want to put this team in the best position [to succeed]."

Jones caught just two passes for 16 yards on seven total targets.

In total, the Jacksonville offense finished with just 14 first downs, 266 total net yards, including 95 total rushing yards. The performance simply wasn't there.

“I think it’s a game of momentum, and I think we lost it early," said Lawrence.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars 'embarrassed' after blowout 40-14 loss to Detroit Lions