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Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson is not ruling out possible changes following his team’s 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Pederson seemed open to any number of moves to get his team back on track. He said, “There have to be changes, whether it’s game-building, personnel, everything. Let’s put it this way, everything is on the table, and those are all things that I have to look at, that we have to look at as a team, and then make the adjustments.”
Buffalo led 34-3 at halftime, the largest halftime deficit in Jaguars franchise history. That allowed the Bills to largely let off the gas in the second half and cruise to a comfortable win, dropping the Jags to 0-3 on the season.
Looking at last season, the Jaguars have now lost eight of their last nine games, while quarterback Trevor Lawrence has lost eight straight starts.
Despite a late-season slump in 2023 that saw the Jags finish 9-8 and miss the playoffs, the organization signed Lawrence to a five-year, $275 million contract extension in the offseason, making him the NFL’s second-highest-paid player in terms of average annual value, tied with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
Although the Jaguars have committed to Lawrence as their long-term starting quarterback, Pederson did not rule out a possible quarterback change when asked about it on Monday. However, he did not support the idea, saying, “They say anything is possible, we have to look at the injury situation. There were a few players injured tonight. Could be moved like that. Could be performance-related. Those are all things we have to evaluate as we go forward.”
Lawrence, 24, was widely expected to take a huge step forward last season after he rushed for 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions in the 2022 season, was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time and helped lead Jacksonville to a playoff victory.
Instead, his numbers dropped to 4,016 yards, 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and the Jaguars’ late-season slump kept them from making the playoffs.
A return was expected in 2024, but that has not been the case so far, as he has completed only 52.8 percent of his passes for 560 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in three games.
Lawrence completed 21 of 38 passes for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception. It didn’t help that he had to play for the second game in a row without his most reliable opponent: tight end Evan Engram, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
The Jags’ defense has also clearly suffered from injuries, with cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andrew Wingard on the injured list, while safety Darnell Savage also missed Monday’s game.
Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen took full advantage of Jacksonville’s understaffed defense, completing 23 of his 30 pass attempts for 263 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Ultimately, things didn’t go well for the Jaguars on Monday night in front of a national audience, and considering how last season ended, it’s fair to wonder if Pederson’s job is on the line if he’s not able to get the situation back under control quickly.
