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Jaguars coach Pederson still undecided on Lawrence after loss
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Jaguars coach Pederson still undecided on Lawrence after loss

ORCHARD PARK, NY — Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson isn’t ruling out any changes after his team’s 0-3 start.

Maybe not even when it comes to quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

“There’s got to be changes, whether it’s game design, personnel, everything,” Pederson said after Monday night’s 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. “Everything’s on the table, let’s call it that, and those are all things that I have to look at, that we as a staff have to look at and make the adjustments.”

However, when asked if this included any changes to the starting lineup and applied to Lawrence, Pederson declined to comment.

“You say everything is on the table, we have to look at injuries,” he said. “Tonight we had a couple of guys injured. We can go that way. Performance can go too. It’s all things we have to evaluate as we go forward.”

The Jaguars (0-3) have been an offensive shambles since the first half of their season opener against Miami, scoring just 23 points and converting 5 of 27 third downs over the past 10 quarters.

Lawrence has completed 47.5% of his passes for 432 yards and one touchdown, with one interception and has been sacked 10 times in that span.

Against Buffalo, he was 21 of 38 passing for 178 yards and one touchdown with an interception. It was his eighth straight loss as a starter, and he hasn’t won a start in 302 days, since a Week 12 win at Houston last season.

“That’s the NFL: The quarterback has to play well every week to have a chance to win. I feel like I’m not doing that consistently enough, so I put the responsibility on myself and I’ve got to play better,” Lawrence said.

Pederson was blunt when asked whether Lawrence clearly needed to play better in 2024 than he has thus far: “I need everybody to coach and play better. Let’s leave it at that.”

But Lawrence isn’t the only one getting blamed for the team’s 0-3 start. The defense played the worst half of football in franchise history against the Bills, giving up 34 points (the most it has allowed in a first half) and allowing Bills quarterback Josh Allen to throw for 247 yards and four touchdowns. The defense, which was already missing two starters in the secondary due to injury (cornerback Tyson Campbell and nickelback Darnell Savage), lost nickelback Jarrian Jones to a shoulder injury.

Linebacker Foyesade Oluokun was also forced to leave the field with a foot injury.

Right tackle Anton Harrison was forced off the field with a knee injury, and receiver Gabe Davis was forced off the field with a shoulder injury.

In short, the Jaguars are in a tough spot right now. Pederson says everything is on the table, but he doesn’t know how to fix things.

“This is who we are now and it’s not very good,” he said. “We have to be honest with ourselves and I have to be honest with myself and just keep going.

“We’ve got the right guys. The right guys are in the room, and the right leaders. I’ve got to find a way to get more out of them, and it’s not just practicing harder and longer. It’s just getting more, whether it’s leadership during games, how they address the team, whatever that is. Those are the things I’ve got to figure out.”

As if the embarrassing loss wasn’t enough for the Jaguars to bear, the team’s charter suffered mechanical problems and the team’s departure from Highmark Stadium was delayed, according to a team spokesman. The team had not left the stadium by 1 a.m. ET.