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Loss by a landslide leaves Lawrence and the plummeting Jaguars questioning themselves after an 0-3 start

Vaseline September 24, 2024

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence acknowledged a difficult truth last week when he described how poorly he and his team played at the start of the season.

On Monday it was coach Doug Pederson’s turn.

“It’s really shocking,” Pederson said, after a 47-10 loss to Buffalo which put the Jaguars at 0-3. “Very disappointed. You hate to say it, but the reality is this is who we are right now. We’re not a very good football team. And we’ve got to fix that.”

Their plane also needed repairs. The Jaguars’ flight home was delayed due to mechanical problems, the team announced.

The Jaguars’ offense has been limited to 40 points and has struggled to stay on the field. And Jacksonville’s defense has suddenly become porous in an outing that has seen the Bills — in the first half alone — score touchdowns on each of their five possessions, gain 288 yards and convert 6 of 8 third-down situations and both fourth-down opportunities.

This is the first time Pederson has started a season 0-3 in his eight years as head coach, including Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Lawrence has lost eight straight starts since last season, with his last win coming in a 24-21 victory at Houston on Nov. 26.

The Jaguars were winning at the time, improving their mark to 8-3, but ultimately finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

Now, as they pick up where they left off last year, more questions arise about Lawrence’s confidence and Pederson’s leadership.

“Disappointment would be an understatement,” Lawrence said, after a week in which he called for candid conversations about the mistakes the Jaguars made.

“It’s just one of those times where we don’t have any momentum,” Lawrence said. “It seems like everyone makes a bad move at the wrong time, myself included.”

The Jaguars opened the season with 14-0 and 17-7 leads before a 20-17 loss to Miami. Last week, a slow-starting offense couldn’t dig itself out of a 13-3 halftime hole in an 18-13 loss to Cleveland.

On Monday, the Jaguars didn’t correct their course, but fell behind 34-3, their largest halftime deficit in franchise history.

Lawrence completed 21 of 38 passes for 178 yards with a touchdown pass to tight end Brenton Strange on the opening drive of the second half. His first interception of the season came when he floated a pass over the head of receiver Brian Thomas Jr. that was intercepted by Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin, giving Buffalo a 27-3 lead five plays later on Josh Allen’s 27-yard TD pass to Khalil Shakir.

After completing 10 of 22 passes for 59 yards in the first half, Lawrence said there was plenty of blame to be shared, while he placed most of the burden on his own shoulders.

“I have to play really well to win,” said Lawrence, who signed a $275 million contract extension in June to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid players. “That’s the NFL. The quarterback has to play well every week to give us a chance to win. I don’t feel like I’ve done that consistently enough. So I’ve put that on myself.”

The defensive disappointment didn’t help.

“I need everybody to coach and play better. Let’s leave it at that,” Pederson said.

The Jaguars play their next two games against opponents from the AFC South division, starting on Sunday in Houston.

“We have to move on and we have to flush it,” Lawrence said.

“We felt like we had an opportunity, in a primetime game, Monday night, to show who we are,” he added. “That’s not who we are. We know that. But it seemed like that’s who we were. We’ve got to fix it. It’s our responsibility.”