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Doug Pederson fired: Jacksonville Jaguars players take blame for disappointing season
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- Doug Pederson fired: Jacksonville Jaguars players take blame for disappointing season
It's no great mystery why the Jacksonville Jaguars went 4-13 in 2024, after back-to-back 9-8 records in the first two seasons under Doug Pederson.
"We didn't make the plays, didn't seize the moments," tight end Evan Engram said Monday, two hours after owner Shad Khan announced he had fired Pederson . "Every Sunday in the NFL, there's going to be pivotal moments [that are] going to lead to a win or a loss. We didn't do well enough in those moments."
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"We didn't finish," running back Travis Etienne said. "It comes down to finishing and we didn't do a great job of that."
The Jaguars set an NFL record for the Super Bowl Era in losing 10 one-score games with Sunday's 26-23 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts . As had been the case with many of the other close losses, the Jaguars offense had the ball with a chance to tie or go ahead in overtime but a sack of quarterback Mac Jones for a 16-yard loss on third down doused their chances.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones (10) is sacked 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]
In other games, such as the first loss to Houston , and losses to Green Bay, the New York Jets and Miami , the defense failed to produce stops after the offense gave the Jaguars the lead.
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For those with doubts about the talent on the team, consider that the Jaguars faced six playoff teams for a total of seven games and lost five by an average of four points.
Two years ago, when the Jaguars won the AFC South and a playoff game in Pederson's first year, the team was 4-0 in one-score games during their stretch run and beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in the wild-card round.
"Maybe that was part of it but there are other essentials that go into it," said wide receiver Christian Kirk. "You can't hang your hat on things that made you successful in the past. You have to be dynamic. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do that."
Both quarterbacks lost five one-score games
There was blame enough to go around on both sides of the ball and the players in the locker room on Monday were not hesitant to point fingers at themselves.
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It also didn't matter whether Trevor Lawrence or Mac Jones was the quarterback. The Jags were 2-7 with Lawrence starting, and 1-5 in one-score games. Jones went 2-6 as the starter or playing most of the game and was 2-5 in one-score games.
"We had a chance in every game besides one I was playing in except one, and that was the Lions game [a 52-6 loss]," Jones said. "That's what I ask myself as a quarterback, 'can you get the game to the last possession.' For me, it's now 'how can I improve to win those games.' There's a lot of things I learned along the way."
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence never played another game this season after this late hit by Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair on Dec. 1 at EverBank Stadium.
Jones pinpointed one reason for taking some of the blame.
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"Maybe it's 'how can you play better earlier," he said.
In the five one-score losses in which Jones started or played most of the game, the Jaguars averaged only 6.6 points in the first half.
Engram said it falls on players
Engram said Pederson bore the brunt of the blame and paid for it with his job, a fact of life in the NFL. But he said the players could have done better to help save their coach's job.
"At the end of the day, we're the players, we're the ones getting it done," he said. "There's a lot of things that we've got to be better at in all three phases for any coach to be successful."
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Safety Andre Cisco defended Pederson and praised him for teaching him a strong work ethic.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker talks to the media on Jan. 6 in the wake of the firing of coach Doug Pederson.
"He set the foundation for my career in terms of how it's supposed to look, kind of grind and how you prepare," he said.
So why did that not translate into success on the field?
"That's a good question," he said. "I think this is the time to meditate on that. I think all year we were expecting the rock to break at some point and we got to a point of no return."
Defensive end Travon Walker suggested that individualism might have crept into the culture of the team.
"We had great coaches in place," said defensive end Travon Walker . "For us, we have to learn how to win. Obviously, we know how to win games but when it comes to the NFL you have to bring it week-in and week-out and there are certain sacrifices players or individuals have to make."
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Walker was asked if the players were on the same wavelength as the coaches.
"There was buy-in but you could definitely tell there was a little drop off, especially on that losing stretch we had," he said. "But you have to learn how to bounce back, get things back."
Injuries decimated the offense
Cisco and Tank Bigsby both cited injuries as a key problem, and they'd be correct. The Jaguars got only eight games from Kirk, nine from Engram and 10 each from Lawrence and wide receiver Gabe Davis.
On offense, safety Andrew Wingard missed half the season, cornerback Tyson Campbell missed five games and slot corner/safety Darnell Savage missed four.
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"Injuries definitely hurt," said Cisco, who missed the Colts game when he injured his groin in pregame warmups.
"We had a lot of guys hurt," added Bigsby. "But it will turn around. I really have faith and I really believe we can turn it around."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars players take blame for Doug Pederson firing
