JACKSONVILLE – It's not one thing, nor is it an uncorrectable thing.
When it comes to what has ailed the Jaguars' offense through three games of the 2023 regular season, offensive coordinator Press Taylor this week said it's many things – and getting those things fixed is the focus heading to London.
It's a collective thing more than anything.
"It's just everybody doing their job a little bit better," Taylor said Thursday as the Jaguars (1-2) prepared to play the Atlanta Falcons (2-1) at Wembley Stadium in London Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
The Jaguars, after scoring four touchdowns in a Week 1 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, have scored two touchdowns in the last two weeks. The Jaguars lost those games, 17-9 to the Kansas City Chiefs and 37-17 to the Houston Texans, with both touchdowns coming against Houston after the Jaguars trailed 17-0 at halftime.
Taylor on Thursday emphasized the need for "just more consistency across the board."
"I think that's all of us," Taylor said. "That's myself. That's the offensive staff. That's every position group you can think of. Just being more consistent every single day, doing your individual job at the highest possible level. Again, that goes to every person in our offensive room."
Missed opportunities at big moments have been key, with the Jaguars scoring two touchdowns on five possessions inside the opponent's 20 in the last two games. They scored two touchdowns on 14 possessions past midfield in that span and have converted 11 of 37 third downs for the season.
"It's a lot of things when you look through it, whether it be protection, batting balls here and there, catching here and there, making decisions here and there," Taylor said. "As we look into it, everybody's had their hand in this. As a unit, there's not one certain person group that has kind of let us down where you think you could make this certain change right here. It's just everybody in some way, shape or form doing the best at their job at that given time, whatever that may be.
"Everybody just has to continue to put their head down and do their job to the best of their ability. And we'll come out on the other side of this thing."
NOTABLE
- Special teams coordinator Heath Caldwell said the unit has responded well this week after a difficult game in which the unit had three momentum-changing plays: a 48-yard missed field goal by kicker Brandon McManus, a 51-yard attempt by McManus that was blocked and an 85-yard kickoff return allowed for a touchdown. The Texans turned the two failed field goals into touchdown drives, meaning special teams miscues led directly to 21 points. "Everybody's frustrated; it's not just me," he said. "The good part about it, I think, is we have a really good group. We were a top 10 group analytically last year. It just so happens we had two tough plays in the same game. It feels terrible that we were a big part of it. The cool thing is I've had more guys come to my office and say, 'Coach, I have to do better. That's my fault. I let our guys down. I let you down.' The cool part is the guys are accountable. They care. It's important to them. The focus at practice this week has been fantastic. It was just kind of a wakeup call of, 'Hey, let's get back to what we do.' We want to be a big impact in a positive way. Just get back to doing that."
- Wide receiver Zay Jones (knee) and linebacker Devin Lloyd (hand) did not practice for a second consecutive day Thursday, with Lloyd expected to miss the next two games after undergoing surgery Wednesday. Jones missed the loss to Houston and Head Coach Doug Pederson said this week he is "day-to-day." Five players practiced limited for a second consecutive day: Safety Antonio Johnson (hamstring), outside linebacker Josh Allen (shoulder), defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi (shoulder), safety Andrew Wingard (shoulder) and right tackle Anton Harrison (ankle). Wide receiver Jamal Agnew practiced limited Thursday.
QUOTABLE
- Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell on a Falcons running game that features rookie running back Bijan Robinson and second-year running back Tyler Allgeier. "They're a strong running team, then the back (Robinson) is dynamic. You see him on film. He's making cuts and he's making people miss, so they're a talented bunch. It's going to be a big challenge. You look at certain situations where they run the ball. Each week teams are different, they have different tendencies, so we just try to us in on those, but at the end of the day, they're committed to [the run]. We know that. So we're going to be committed to trying to stop it."