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Jacksonville Jaguars hard-fought loss to Packers doesn't matter; injuries, mistakes mount
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- Jacksonville Jaguars hard-fought loss to Packers doesn't matter; injuries, mistakes mount
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said in postgame that the team is "devastated" and "heartbroken" after a narrow 30-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Jacksonville battled back after being down 10 points late in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 27 before giving up a last-second 24-yard field goal . It marked the team's sixth loss of the season and perhaps the one that stings the most after what the Jaguars did to overcome mistakes and injuries throughout the game.
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"They've battled their tails off. They fought until the end quite frankly. That's all I can ask for. But I also want them to understand too that these games come down to about two plays, three plays," said Pederson.
JAGUARS GRADES: Defense fails again, turnovers plague late-starting offense
The most devastating play came with 1:15 remaining in the contest. Jacksonville placed 10 of 11 defenders within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Green Bay was at their 34-yard line.
Jacksonville appeared to be in man coverage with safety Andre Cisco down near the line of scrimmage. Green Bay receiver Jayden Reed slipped through coverage with noise in the way of Jacksonville defenders on a crossing route after lining up attached to the formation.
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Cisco attempted to follow him but fell because of what he described in the postgame locker room as cramping.
Reed caught the ball at Jacksonville's 40-yard line before being pushed out at the 15 for a 51-yard gain, putting the Packers in position for the go-ahead field goal.
"They ran a great play on offense, that little sneak play," tight end Evan Engram said. "That gets everybody. So, very unfortunate in the moment."
Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun said that it doesn't matter what happens, the team has to win the critical downs to win games — and they're close to doing that.
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"That's when the wins will start rolling. We've got all the talent," Oluokun said. "I know you guys are tired of hearing it, but we're right there. We've just got to execute when execution matters the most."
Jacksonville's offense made mistakes, too.
To start the fourth quarter, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence fumbled the football deep into his own territory . Pederson said after the game that while he thought Lawrence did a nice job overcoming the injuries late, he can't turn the ball over. The fumble was converted into a touchdown to give the Packers a 27-17 lead.
"We can't turn the ball over that deep," he said. "Obviously we know that, but the resilient part of that is how we battle back and get ourselves in position to tie the football game. That's the mindset. That's the mindset we have to have in the first quarter. That will be something that we can I think learn from moving forward."
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Jaguars suffer from attrition, lose 6 players due to injuries vs. Packers
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 27: Christian Kirk #13 of the Jacksonville Jaguars reacts on the field after an injury against the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at EverBank Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
The loss wasn't necessarily the worst part about Jacksonville's Sunday.
Throughout the contest, six starters went down due to injuries including:
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OL Ezra Cleveland , ankle, questionable, never returned
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OL Brandon Scherff , knee, questionable, returned
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CB Ronald Darby , hip, questionable, never returned
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WR Gabe Davis , shoulder, questionable, never returned
Pederson said after the game that he did not have any injury updates to provide before talking with the team trainers.
Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker said the team will have a next-man-up approach moving forward.
"It's the NFL so that is how it's supposed to be, it's next man up. I mean it's nothing that you can do alone," Walker said. "Tomorrow, Monday, we have to come in to get treatment. The ones who are banged up, we have to come and it get healthy and then it's on to the next one. It's a week-to-week league."
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Lawrence said everyone has to "step up."
"Guys just have to step up, including me. It's the same every week. Playing quarterback in this league, if you don't play well, you're not probably going to have a great chance to win, so it doesn't really change. It's any position. You just have to play well," said Lawrence.
"Doesn't matter who you are playing, you have to play together. You have to execute in critical situations. Just all stuff that we've talked about, and we have to continue to get better at it and I think we have in some areas. It's one thing. The team has to stick together, and we can't be totally dejected by the result today."
The Jaguars will have to overcome the losses on both sides of the ball, and they showed that resolve against the Packers even with a loss.
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Multiple backups, including Parker Washington , Tim Jones and Brenton Strange picked up the slack. Washington and Strange contributed mightily on Jacksonville's final touchdown drive before a 14-yard touchdown catch by Evan Engram to tie the game up.
Despite everything, Jaguars fall to 2-6 with no room for error left
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) celebrates with tight end Evan Engram (17) on his touchdown catch during the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers.
Even though the Jaguars were able to overcome adversity, they still weren't able to get the job done. The result is the same no matter what and morale victories have been thrown out the window.
While it's nice that young players stepped up, it doesn't matter in the end.
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"At this point of our season, you can't really bask in the moral victories but yeah, it's good for our team. Good for the young guys to step up in that moment. We've still got a lot of football left, so we've got to keep going," Engram said.
Engram said that moving forward the team does have something to fight for.
"We've got to fight for our legacy. What kind of legacy do we want to leave as individuals and for our team as a team? So, we can throw the record out at this point, what legacy are we going to leave on the field moving forward? I think today gave us a good glimpse of what we can do. Still just got to finish so, got to keep moving forward," said Engram.
Still, Engram doesn't believe that the season is over. He said the team needs to continue moving forward and stacking on what they've been able to do.
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"I'm saying that we've got to continue to do that and continue to build on that. If we have the outlook, we're going to get the best out of our guys for sure," Engram added.
The Jaguars take on the Philadelphia Eagles on the road next week. The game starts at 4:25 p.m. after being flexed out of the Sunday Night Football slot last week .
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars' injuries, mistakes pile up in 'devastating' loss
