Earlier in the week, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said “the sky is not falling” after the team’s back-to-back losses. A few days later, he said the reason he hasn’t hit the panic button is that the team’s issues are mostly self-inflicted.
“You look at the last two weeks and just the mistakes we’ve made, we had chances to win both games,” Pederson said Friday. “Of course, we didn’t, so if we just eliminate some of the BS let’s call it, the internal things — turnovers, takeaways, missed assignments, all that kind of stuff — you’re feeling better about yourself.
“But I think our guys have taken pride in that this week, and they want to put their best foot forward and go out and play a full complete game.”
Those miscues include allowing four touchdown passes for at least 30 yards and turning the ball over four times against the Cleveland Browns. Those errors have mostly boiled down to miscommunications..
On Thursday, offensive coordinator Press Taylor wanted to make it clear that none of the team’s receivers are running the wrong routes. He did, however, explain the ways Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones weren’t on the same page.
The defensive breakdowns have been even worse. Despite having 11 returning starters, the Jaguars have struggled to understand and stick to their assignments. Mistakes by 2022 first-rounders Travon Walker and Devin Lloyd led to walk-in touchdowns for Browns tight end David Njoku. Veteran defensive backs Darious Williams and Rayshawn Jenkins didn’t communicate on a play that turned into a 41-yard touchdown for David Bell.
Is it correctable? Theoretically, it certainly should be. But issues that should’ve been ironed out in September coming to a head in December isn’t great.
Cutting out the BS is what separates the Jaguars from being a contender. How the team looks against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night will go a long way toward telling if that’s a goal that can be accomplished.
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