4 critical observations from Jaguars preseason game vs. Steelers

Football is back. Sure, it's the preseason, where the outcome of the game doesn't matter. Nevertheless, the Jacksonville Jaguars took advantage of the opportunity to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the opener and display the work they've put in the past few months.

It was a small sample, but the Jags gave fans a handful of reasons to be hyped up about, including Cam Little's successful 70-yard field goal. On the other hand, they also showed that they still need to sort out a few things before the regular season. With that in mind, here are four crucial observations from the Jacksonville 31-24 loss to the Steelers.

Trevor Lawrence delivered vs. the Steelers

After months of preparation and recovering from a shoulder injury, Trevor Lawrence looked fine in the preseason opener. He didn't take any deep shots but otherwise looked sharp, completing passes to different receivers. The former Clemson Tiger went 6-of-7 for 43 yards and left after one drive.

All things considered, it was a solid performance by Lawrence. He will probably get more playing time in Week 2.

The Jaguars are showing creativity with Liam Coen leading the way

Teams normally run a vanilla offense in the preseason because the emphasis is on execution. But Liam Coen didn't hesitate to show a sample of his system.

When the first-team offense took the field, the Jaguars used motion and a variety of formations. This is encouraging when you take into account that Doug Pederson was stuck in 2017 and his scheme severely lacked creativity.

As noted before, Trevor Lawrence did a good job of distributing the ball. On the other hand, not everything was sunshine and flowers. The Jags were flagged three times on the first two drives, one for having 12 men on the field. That kind of miscue cannot happen, so execution and fundamentals will surely be a point of emphasis in the film room.

Travis Hunter makes history (but he's still a rookie)

Travis Hunter got one step closer to his goal of playing two ways as a rookie when he lined up at corner and wide receiver in the first game of the preseason. Ha had two catches on two targets for nine yards. On defense, the West Palm Beach, Florida native, he logged eight snaps. The only thing noteworthy was that he missed one tackle.

You could make the case that Hunter was underwhelming in the opener, but No. 1: It's the preseason, and No. 2: He's still a rookie getting acclimated to the NFL, so there's nothing to worry about. If anything, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is showing that he can play on offense and defense.

The Anthony Campanile defense is a work in progress

The Jaguars hired Anthony Campanile as their defensive coordinator in the offseason. The early results weren't particularly promising despite the fact that the team's brass added upgrades to nearly all position groups on his side of the ball.

On the team's defensive drive, the Jags offered no resistance and let the Steelers march down the field to score the first touchdown of the game.

Things got a bit better on the following drive, but it was still a bit frustrating to see the Jaguars put no resistance against backup quarterbacks Skyler Thompson and Mason Rudolph. That's right, Aaron Rodgers didn't play.

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