JACKSONVILLE – This one stung. Doug Pederson left no doubt.
The Jaguars on Sunday lost their 2024 regular-season opener in a game they could have won. So, while there were unquestionable positives – and while one week doesn't define a season – Pederson a day later said this much was clear:
A missed Week 1 opportunity meant a difficult Monday.
"It's a tough one to deal with," he said.
Pederson, speaking a day after a 20-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins in a Week 1 game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., said while "there was a lot of good that came out of this football game, games like this are always going to hurt."
"We can stand here and play a shoulda, woulda, could all day long," Pederson said. "Bottom line is we did not do enough to finish the football game. These are all the things that as coaches and players, we need to fix and get corrected before this week."
The Jaguars took a 17-7 halftime lead with quarterback Trevor Lawrence throwing a 14-yard second-quarter touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and running back Travis Etienne Jr. rushing for a one-yard first-quarter touchdown. The Dolphins outscored the Jaguars 13-0 in the final 17:08, winning on Jason Sanders' 52-yard field goal on the game's final play.
The Jaguars did not trail until Sanders' game-winning kick.
"It's really the tale of two halves," Pederson said.
The Jaguars had six first downs on five second-half drives with one first down and four yards on two fourth-quarter drives.
Pederson said the Jaguars stayed aggressive offensively in the second half, citing a 94-yard drive that ended when Etienne's fumble was recovered for a touchback in the end zone by safety Jevon Holland. Pederson also opted to go for a first down on 4th-and-2 from the Jaguars 32 on the first play of the fourth quarter, with Etienne stopped for a two-yard loss on the play.
"That's pretty aggressive to me in the second half," Pederson said.
The Jaguars for the game converted two of 10 third downs, which Pederson said he considered the game's key statistic.
"Third downs was our nemesis," he said. "Offensively, I felt like in the second half we did some good things in the run game to try to stay ahead, which we did. You look at some of the third downs we had, they were in unique situations – third and really long. We gave up sacks in those situations, too."
The Jaguars rushed 14 times for 78 yards in the second half and attempted nine pass plays for 37 yards. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who threw for 162 yards and a touchdown Sunday, completed three of seven second-half passes and was sacked twice.
"There's a time in the game where we as offensive coaches felt like our offensive line was taking over the football game," he said. "When you get in that sort of frame of mind, the idea – especially when the big guys are 'feeling it a little bit,' as we say – is you continue to run football.
"We didn't do enough at the end of the game offensively to stay on the field, which came down to third downs."
Among the positives Pederson cited Monday:
- A strong run defense that held the Dolphins to 83 rushing yards. "I thought against the run, we did we did some really good things stopping that," he said.
- Rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones, who played extensively in nickel situations and drew man-to-man coverage extensively on Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill at times. "I thought he played really well," Pederson said. "I didn't think there was much hesitation in his play. He did the things he was asked to do. He played physical. To go against somebody like Tyreek in your first game out in the NFL, that's a large task. I thought he did a nice job."
Pederson specifically discussed the offensive line, saying: "They played really well."
"If you look at the bottom line, you rush for 128 yards. On paper, great," Pederson said. "Now we have to do better in in short yardage. We have to do better in fourth and one. We have to do better in certain areas. But overall, I thought they played physical and came off the football. We had a few communication errors that took us off some blocking schemes. All things that we can fix."
NOTABLE COMMENTS FROM JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON'S PRESS CONFERENCE
- Cornerback Tyson Campbell sustained a hamstring injury Sunday, with Pederson on Monday saying the fourth-year veteran "is going to miss some time. I'm not going to put any expectations on it. We're just going to let him go week to week and see where he comes." Pederson said there were no other significant injuries Sunday. "Everybody's good," he said.
