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Jacksonville Jaguars' Josh Hines-Allen: We have not 'checked out' for 2024 season
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- Jacksonville Jaguars' Josh Hines-Allen: We have not 'checked out' for 2024 season
Josh Hines-Allen is nothing if not optimistic.
Hear him out.
The sixth-year Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end who had a season-high eight quarterback pressures in Sunday's 12-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings , said on Monday that the team has not "checked out" and will continue to battle until they're mathematically eliminated from the AFC South race.
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What? The Jaguars are 2-8 and four games behind the Houston Texans with seven to play .
But Hines-Allen looks at the Jaguars' 7-2 streak to end the 2022 season and win the division after a 2-6 start; and their 1-6 skid last season to finish with the same 9-8 record but finish a game behind the Texans, and realizes that almost anything is possible.
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"You've got to look around ... we're not the only 2-8 team in the NFL," Hines-Allen said. [New York is 2-8 and three teams are 2-7]. "We started off 8-3 and lost every game except for one. The Texans are a good team. You never know what may happen. I feel like we have a pretty good chance of winning the rest of our games but obviously, we have to start with next week, one of the best teams, probably the best team in the NFL."
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Jaguars face top team in the NFC, on the road
That would be the Detroit Lions , who staged a comeback from a 23-7 halftime deficit to beat Houston 26-23 on Sunday night. At 8-1, Detroit has the best record in the NFC and the second-best in the NFL, behind unbeaten Kansas City.
And yet, Lions quarterback Jared Goff was intercepted five times. The Jaguars' defense had three picks against the Vikings and has forced four turnovers, scored on defense and had four sacks in the last two games.
"We know what they're about," Hines-Allen said about Detroit. "They don't really change for anybody so we can dial in and understand what we need to do up front and in the back end. It's going to be a tough game but we've got to do what we've got to do."
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If the Jaguars somehow get past the Lions, the schedule is less daunting after the bye week. The only opponent after that currently with a winning record is Houston, and the Jaguars lost to the Texans 24-20 in Houston on Sept. 29.
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The Jaguars also play Tennessee (2-7) twice, the New York Jets (3-7), Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) and the Indianapolis Colts (4-6). The combined record of their remaining opponents is 19-38 (33.3).
Josh Hines-Allen said leadership is holding team together
Hines-Allen denied there were any signs that the locker room has lost its confidence and is going through the motions the rest of the season.
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"Man, we don't do that. We haven't done it," he said. "I don't know why we would start to do it. We have great leaders on this team, great players on this team. If we can hone in on what we do, we're still in a position where something could happen and we could play ourselves back into a great situation."
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) is swallowed up by the Minnesota Vikings defense during the third quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Vikings defeated the Jaguars 12-7. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Hines-Allen said if the team was going to quit, it would have already happened. But since a 35-16 blowout loss to Chicago , the Jags have beaten New England and lost three games in a row by a combined 13 points, to Green Bay , Philadelphia and Minnesota, who are a combined 28-8 this week (77.8).
"You would think it would have been started a long time ago," he said. If we tap out now, man ... I just don't see us doing that, don't see us doing it."
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Brian Thomas Jr. , said "everybody is up"
Rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., agreed that the team remains in a good place mentally, if not in the standings.
"Everybody is still positive. Everybody is still up, knowing we have to keep fighting and finish out the season," he said.
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As an example of the team's lack of finger-pointing, Thomas refuses to complain about the fact that he has caught only four passes for 34 yards and no touchdowns in the last two games, after averaging 7.3 targets, 4.1 receptions and 71.6 yards per game in the first eight, with five touchdowns.
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Jaguars coach Doug Pederson has pointed out that Thomas is being double-covered more and that everyone's targets will go up if the offense could convert more third downs. The Jaguars are 29th in the NFL in third-down conversions at 33 percent.
Perhaps Thomas doesn't want to speak out of turn, as a rookie. But he's lining up behind his coach.
"You can't stay on the field if you can't covert and get first downs," he said. "Get a drive started and maintain it. Just execute the little things and that will do it."
Pederson agrees with Hines-Allen's take on the locker room
Pederson doesn't think Hines-Allen is living in a dream world when he thinks the season isn't lost.
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"Despite the mistakes and losses ... it's a crazy business and they can change," Pederson said. "It can change for us in a hurry, get positive in a quick way. The guys haven't checked out whatsoever. It's hard. You hurt for the guys because you see how much they put into it. We have six one-score losses. But the guys are all in it together and trying to fix it."
Hines-Allen said the offense and defense can get on the same page.
"If we keep fighting, I think we're just getting better defensively," he said. "Offensively, once they find that groove, we'll be playing some great ball."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars' Josh Hines-Allen: There's no quit in this team
