JACKSONVILLE – The expectations are high, and Press Taylor knows it.

That's true outside the Jaguars, but the second-year offensive coordinator said those expectations are secondary to inside expectations. It's the latter that matters.

"We have very high standards," he said.

Taylor, calling plays full-time in 2023 after splitting the duties with Head Coach Doug Pederson last season, spoke to the media Thursday as the Jaguars (1-1) prepared to play the Houston Texans (0-2) in an AFC South game at EverBank Stadium Sunday.

It's the first game after a three-field goal offensive performance in a 17-9 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday. Taylor made clear that while the offense is looking forward to Sunday, the recent performance did not align with the high standards.

"We expect a lot of ourselves," Taylor said. "We expect to play to a certain standard that we felt like really through two weeks we haven't been able to achieve yet – or consistently at least. We know we have to just keep chipping away.

"We trust the process that we've got in place for how we build game plans, how we practice, how we prepare the guys, and really just kind of double down on our process."

Pederson and multiple Jaguars players this week have discussed needing to relax and let the offense happen naturally rather than pressing to make big plays.

"At times you fight the feeling of, 'All right, we need a big play here; we need to spark momentum,''' Taylor said. "What got us going last year a little bit was just sticking to our plan. We build a game plan that we believe in, we execute the plan regardless of the situation and we chip away at whatever we needed to do to get ourselves going.

"You fight the urge that you have to start digging and looking for the big play when it's not necessarily there. Coach talks to the team all the time about, 'Make the play that comes.' You don't go chasing plays.'

"That applies to all coaches and myself as the play-caller – just stick to the plan we created, we believed in from Monday to Saturday, when there was no emotion involved in it, just stick to that, let the players make the plays."

Taylor said aside from not meeting their own standards against the Chiefs, what bothered players and coaches on the Jaguars' offense most Sunday had nothing to do with "outside noise or people."

"The biggest thing was we felt like we let down the two other units on our team," he said. "We felt like special teams and defense gave us opportunities to win the game. And as an offense, we didn't carry our weight and do our part. That's, that's where you feel the worst, is you let you feel like you let down the rest of the team."

INJURY UPDATES:

• Wide receiver Zay Jones (knee) and safety Antonio Johnson (hamstring) missed practice Thursday, with Jones missing a second consecutive day after sustaining an injury against the Chiefs Sunday and Johnson out since preseason.
• Outside linebacker Josh Allen (shoulder, Chiefs) and safety Andrew Wingard (shoulder, Chiefs) practiced limited for a second consecutive day.
• Right guard Brandon Scherff returned to practice Thursday after missing practice for personal reasons Wednesday and defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi practiced limited after missing Wednesday with a shoulder injury sustained against the Chiefs.

NOTABLE

• The Jaguars forced three turnovers in each of the first two games and are tied for second in the NFL with six takeaways entering Week 3 behind the Dallas Cowboys with seven. They finished fourth in the NFL with 27 takeaways in 2022. "It's kind of hard because you'll get opportunities; you just have to come down with them," defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell said. "At the end of the day, they come in bunches, the turnovers do, the takeaways do. We just want to put ourselves around the ball and put ourselves in a good position to make a couple of plays."
• The Jaguars' last home game against the Texans was last season in Week 5, a 13-6 loss in which they scored the fewest points of any game under Pederson. Taylor said that game doesn't factor into planning for this week's game because the Texans' coaching staff has changed since that game. Taylor said coaches have studied past defenses of the San Francisco 49ers, where Texans first-year Head Coach DeMeco Ryans served as defensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022. "You see his identity, how they played, and then you're always checking the tape: Is it the same or is it aligned?" Taylor said. "Is this who they are? That's always kind of the research you do throughout the week to get a feel for it."

QUOTABLE

• Taylor on outside "noise" in his first season calling plays full-time in the NFL: "Outside noise doesn't affect us inside. And I'm here pretty much all day, every day. So I don't really go on social media, don't listen to the radio, don't watch tv, and don't really have time to. You're kind of 'ignorance is bliss.' That doesn't really bother me at all."