Jaguars coach Doug Pederson: Late-season collapse 'a motivating factor' for 2024

The 2023 season started positively for Jacksonville, with an 8-3 record, positioning them as early contenders for the AFC’s No. 1 seed. However, they faced adversity in December.

During that month, which included five total games, Trevor Lawrence suffered a string of injuries (ankle, concussion, shoulder) that forced him to leave three contests early and miss the first game of his career in Week 17. Christian Kirk‘s absence in the final five games was another twist during the Jags’ late offensive struggles. Strangely enough, backup quarterback C.J. Beathard led Jacksonville to its lone win in December, setting up the Jaguars with a win-and-in playoff scenario with Lawrence slated to return for the season finale.

The Jaguars were unsuccessful in defeating their division-rival Titans in Week 18, which concluded a 1-5 run, ending what initially appeared to be a promising year. Head coach Doug Pederson views this disappointing finish as a source of motivation for his team as they head into 2024.

“It’s going to burn for a long time until we get to meaningful games again and start playing in September,” Pederson said during a Wednesday appearance on NFL Network’s The Insiders. “But I think that’s the same fuel and the motivating factor for our players that the way we ended is not us and no matter what you go through as a football team, everybody goes through adversity. There’s always going to be injuries but you can’t make excuses. You got to go play football. So for us, we got to learn from that, roll up our sleeves during training camp, work hard, and just play it one game at a time.”

Despite the disappointing season in Duval County, there were a few positive aspects to be noted. The Jaguars hadn’t had back-to-back winning seasons in almost two decades, a trend that changed with Pederson’s appointment in 2022. The coach, who boasts a Super Bowl victory, has managed to stabilize the situation in Jacksonville. In addition, the front office has taken an assertive approach in building a competitive team through free agency and draft choices.

Lawrence and pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen‘s long-term extensions this offseason bolstered the Jaguars’ outlook, and solidifying franchise cornerstones was preceded by key free-agent additions such as wide receiver Gabe Davis and defensive lineman Arik Armstead. The drafting of WR Brian Thomas Jr. with the No. 23 overall pick is another move that’s expected to see immediate results in 2024.

“Well, I think that’s what we saw in Gabe Davis in Buffalo what he did, how he could kind of stretch the field,” Pederson said of the Jags’ offseason. “He was a big, tall receiver that could go over the middle, he was physical and could block. I would say that’s a piece that we missed a little bit last year. Zay (Jones) was a little beat up, we missed Christian (Braswell) at the end of the season. We get Christian (Kirk) back healthy, we lost Calvin Ridley but now we get Gabe and Brian, and Brian’s got the speed element that we probably lost with Calvin.

“We’ve got to integrate all that. We got to get on the same page early as we head into training camp but I’m excited for these guys and how they fit. And Devin (Duvernay) brings another element too in our return game with (Jamal) Agnew not back so we feel like we’re in a good spot. The big thing is just a matter of working and working together and building the camaraderie and the team around our quarterback that can help us all be successful.”

This summer, Jacksonville will need to make significant adjustments, primarily adapting to the new defensive scheme of coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Last year, the Jaguars’ defense was heavily beaten during the latter part of the season, a downfall that was instigated by the challenges faced by the team’s offense.

Pederson is confident that Nielsen’s strategy will aid an already skilled pass rush, which ended 25th in the league with 40.0 sacks. He believes that pressuring the quarterback could provide additional chances for a unit that achieved 27 takeaways last season, ranking fifth in the NFL.

A robust defense could significantly boost an offense that was on an upward trajectory last season, provided it was in good health. This is all part of the Jaguars’ deliberate strategy to move past the previous season’s downturn.

“I think trust is everything with a football team,” Pederson said of the defense. “You got to lean on your brother, you got to lean on your coaches, coaches got to lean on each other. Not only in the good times but the bad. And obviously there were some changes made on staff last year and bringing in Ryan Nielsen and his staff on defense and sort of the new approach that he has with our defense and guys like Josh with Travon (Walker) and the addition of Armstead and guys like that that could really, really help us in the pass rush and be even better than we were before. You’ll see some differences with our defense, I think it’s all positive, but at the same time we got to get it all gelled on the same page, as we move forward.”