Jaguars shut down in Motown, fall 40-14 to Detroit Lions. Here are our takeaways.

DETROIT —  After starting the day with plenty to play for, the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8) weren't able to show up when needed against the Lions (5-7) on Sunday, ultimately losing 40-14.

Sunday's loss marked the 20th straight loss to an NFC opponent for Jacksonville. It is an NFL record number of out-of-conference losses in a row.

The previous high mark was set by the then-Oakland Raiders with 13-straight losses to NFC opponents from 2011-14. The Lions broke a streak of their own, too. It is the team's first victory against an AFC opponent since doing it against the Jaguars in 2020.

With just two minutes left in the contest, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson yanked all of the team's offensive starters except for right tackle Jawaan Taylor.

More game coverage:

• Relief: Lawrence returns brief injury scare

• Jaguars report card: Just an aw-FFFul day on multiple fronts against Detroit Lions

• Chark attack: Former Jaguar DJ Chark makes big plays early to get Lions out to early lead

For the Jaguars, the team entered Sunday's contest with little doubt of running back Travis Etienne suiting up against the Lions.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said Friday that the second-year back would be "good to go," and that was validated once the official inactive were released roughly 90 minutes prior to kickoff.

Three other players, including safety Andre Cisco (shoulder), wide receiver Zay Jones (chest) and RB Darrell Henderson (illness) entered the game as questionable.

Jones was declared active, while Henderson was unable to play. It is the second week in a row that cornerback Tre Herndon was deemed a healthy scratch.

Prior to the contest, Cisco was spotted testing his shoulder with the Jacksonville medical staff, including Vice President of Player Health and Performance Jeff Ferguson, but was deemed inactive just prior to the contest.

For the Lions, the team received good news over the weekend as rookie receiver Jameson Williams was activated from the team's reserve/non-football injury (NFI) list on Saturday. Williams was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Alabama.

Today marks the first game in which all three of the Lions' starting receiver unit is fully healthy, including star WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Williams and former Jaguars WR D.J. Chark Jr. as the two other primary receivers for Detroit. Williams was deemed active just prior to the contest.

Trevor Lawrence gets hurt, but able to return for second half

Jacksonville held its breath at the end of the first half after Lawrence went down in pain, grabbing his left leg before walking gingerly to the locker room. The injury occurred on the final play of the first half after Lions defensive lineman James Houston sacked Lawrence, hitting him low.

No flag was called on the play, though it states in the NFL's rulebook that any hit at or below the knee area is a penalty.

Still, Lawrence was able to return to the gridiron in the second half of the contest. Upon his return, Lawrence completed 6 of 10 passes for 52 yards, including a three-yard TD toss to tight end Evan Engram.

Ultimately, Lawrence played all the snaps today until offensive starters were pulled after the Lions went up 40-14. CJ Beathard played the final series.

Lawrence finished 17 of 31 for 179 yards and a touchdown.

Jaguars offense starts slow, can't move ball against Lions defense

The Jaguars began the day against the Lions with two stalled drives due to dropped footballs. On his second carry of the day, Etienne fumbled the football after Lions safety DeShon Elliott forced the ball out and linebacker Alex Anzalone recovered it. Etienne gained 13 yards prior to the fumble.

A drop on defense by Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams at the one-yard-line enabled the Lions to quickly score its first TD of the day with running back Jamaal Williams. Williams nearly picked the ball off only to tip it right into the hands of a waiting St. Brown.

Jacksonville's second drive of the day got off to a hot start with a deep shot from quarterback Trevor Lawrence to receiver Christian Kirk for 37 yards. Kirk, along with tight end Evan Engram helped the drive get to the Lions' 13-yard-line.

However, on third-and-three, receiver Zay Jones dropped a pass that would have been good for a first down, if not a touchdown.

Jacksonville was forced to settle for a field goal on what appeared at first glance to be a good answer to the Lions' score. In the end, all three drops, or in Etienne's case — a fumble, got Jacksonville in an early 14-3 hole.

By the end of the contest, the Jaguars accounted for five drops, including three by Zay Jones, two by Evan Engram.

By the time the starters were pulled, the Jaguars totaled just 256 net yards, converting just three out of 11 third downs.

Jaguars defense a non-factor against Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown

The Jaguars' defense entered the day having played solid bend-but-don't-break defense last week against the Ravens. That changed against the Lions when all they appeared to do was bend, break and everything in between.

The Lions scored on all eight of their possessions, including four touchdowns and four field goals. They totaled 438 net yards, giving up 340 yards passing to Goff who completed 31 out of 41 passes and two touchdowns. Star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 11 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

Jacksonville forced the Lions to kick two field goals during the first half, but surrendered two touchdowns, too. With just under seven minutes remaining, the Lions offense already netted 213 total net yards.

At halftime, the Lions netted 260 total net yards. Quarterback Jared Goff completed 18 out of 23 of his passes for 204 yards and a touchdown while the Lions doubled the Jaguars' first-down total with 16. The Lions also converted 50 percent of its third downs.

Jacksonville didn't have much of an answer for the Lions' rushing attack, either, though Detroit didn't go to it much. The Lions totaled 59 yards on 14 attempts during the first half to go along with the Williams TD.

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: Quick takeaways from Jacksonville Jaguars loss vs Detroit Lions