JACKSONVILLE – It’s a week for moving forward. Sooner, not later.

Trevor Lawrence said it’s about more than that, though. Because while the Jaguars must put the past in the past, the third-year quarterback said they must be sure to do so successfully.

“We have to be able to move on and figure out how we can get better,” Lawrence said Wednesday as the Jaguars (1-1) prepared to play the Houston Texans (0-2) in an AFC South game at EverBank Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m. “You kind of want to get that feeling out of your system.”

The Jaguars lost to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs Sunday in the regular-season home opener, 17-9, with Head Coach Doug Pederson on Wednesday emphasizing a “forward mindset.”

“We can’t go backward,” Pederson said. “Obviously, we have to focus. We have to clean up some things. We know that.”

The Jaguars enter Sunday tied with the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans in the AFC South at 1-1, with the Texans the division’s only winless team. The Jaguars with a victory would be the lone 2-0 team in the division through three games.

“These are the biggest games of our season, just making sure we win all of our games in our division,” Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk said. “This is just a second step to be able to do that. We’re looking to go 2-0 in the division. It would be a big win for us, so we’re definitely not taking this lightly whatsoever.”

Tight end Evan Engram said the division game storyline means “There’s no letting off the gas at all,” noting that the Jaguars won the South last season by beating the Titans with a defensive touchdown in the final three minutes of the regular-season finale.

“It’s a division rival,” Engram said. “We understand the stakes of what the division came down to last year. It’s a crazy league. You never know what happens. It’s good to get these games early and get ahead in the rankings of division. That’s how we’re attacking it. It’s a must-win game.”

Pederson and Lawrence on Wednesday each spoke of the importance of preparation.

“I would say we didn’t practice very well last week, and it starts there,” Pederson said. “It starts with practice and being efficient. We have to have good days coming up, but this team is resilient that way and they seem to respond to each other and to the kinds of adversity we sort of bring on ourselves.”

Lawrence said the subpar practices last week have been addressed.

“We talked about it,” he said. “We even talked about it last week and tried to finish the week strong. I didn’t think we were flying around quite as good as we were maybe the week before. I think that’s the adjustment as we get in the season and you play these long, physical games.”

The Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts, 31-21, in Indianapolis in Week 1.

“That was a physical, tough four-quarter game and you just have to get used to bouncing back and being ready to go on Wednesday, Thursday for practice,” Lawrence said. “Because you have to get the game plan in. You have to get those reps to feel good about it and I don’t think we did a good job necessarily last week of doing that, especially on Wednesday.

“That’s the emphasis this week. The guys are ready to go. I think we’re really locked in. Guys are ready. We have to bring some energy and get back on track.”

Lawrence completed 22 of 41 passes for 216 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions against the Chiefs, with the Jaguars not scoring a touchdown for the first time since a Week 5 2022 loss to the Texans in Jacksonville.

“Every week you want to play your best, especially after the performance from our offense Sunday,” Lawrence said. “We’re definitely looking to play better than that. You have to turn the page and move on. You want to bounce back.

“We have the guys to do it and we’re going to do it. We’re putting all our efforts and focus into Houston, but definitely we’re thinking about how we felt in that locker room and how we didn’t perform. We understand where we’re at.

“I have confidence in those guys, and we’ll put together a great plan and be prepared.”

NOTABLE

• Wide receiver Zay Jones missed practice Wednesday with a knee injury sustained against the Chiefs, with outside linebacker Josh Allen practicing limited (shoulder, Chiefs).
• Defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi missed practice (shoulder, Chiefs) and safety Andrew Wingard practiced limited (shoulder, Chiefs).
• Rookie safety Antonio Johnson (hamstring) remained out (hamstring).
• “He’s a big one,” Pederson said of Jones. “He’s a big part of what we’re doing. Tim Jones has had some playing experience for us and can fill that role quite nicely. Zay is a physical receiver who does some blocking for us as well. Tim’s done that before. Tim will get some work if Zay can’t go.”