JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser examines Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson's postgame press conference following a 31-0 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in a 2024 Preseason Week 3 game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., Friday
1. Good progress, more to go. The Jaguars finished the 2024 preseason 3-0, marking their second consecutive undefeated preseason. When asked if that record mattered, Pederson said, "No. We're sitting here 0-0." What mattered was that the Jaguars made progress during a preseason in which they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2. They then controlled a Falcons team that played mostly reserves Friday, with the Jaguars playing their starting offense for two series and their starting defense the entire first half. "I think we're on track," Pederson said. "I don't think we're a finished product. We're still working on some things in all three phases, but it was a good preseason. It was tough. It was physical on them. I thought they handled it extremely well. It showed in their play in these three games, but now that doesn't matter. We have to get ready for Miami." The Jaguars play the Miami Dolphins in the 2024 regular-season opener in Miami on September 8.
2. Solid debut. Friday marked the 2024 debut of the Jaguars' starting offensive line, marking the first time playing together in a game for left tackle Cam Robinson, left guard Ezra Cleveland, center Mitch Morse, right guard Brandon Scherff and right tackle Anton Harrison. The Jaguars signed Morse as a free agent in March, with Cleveland and Harrison missing Preseason Week 1 due to injuries and Pederson not playing starters in Preseason Week 2. "I thought it was good," Pederson said of the line. "There are still some things we can improve on and continue to work. But I thought overall they did a nice job. Atlanta threw some pressures at us that were unblocked, which is going to happen. [Quarterback] Trevor [Lawrence] did a nice job getting the ball out of his hand. Overall, I thought they played well."
3. No announcement yet. A major 2024 offseason storyline for Jaguars observers is who will call plays, Pederson or offensive coordinator Press Taylor. Pederson called plays in the first halves of games in 2022 with Taylor calling them in the second halves. Taylor called plays the entire game in 2023, with Pederson saying Friday: "We have a couple of weeks. We'll discuss that and go from there."
4. Run to win. The Jaguars on Friday rushed for 208 yards on 44 carries, with starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. rushing seven times for 46 yards and backup Tank Bigsby rushing eight times for 40 yards. It marked the third time in as many preseason games the Jaguars rushed for more than 100 yards. "That matters," Pederson said. "That's good to see. Even our backups, I thought in all three games, really have done a great job running the football. [Offensive line] Coach [Phil] Rauscher has done an excellent job getting those guys prepared and keeping the scheme simple. We're running a lot of the same schemes over and over and it makes a difference as well."
5. Strong again. Backup quarterback Mac Jones turned in another strong performance Friday. Jones, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns in Preseason Week 2 against the Buccaneers, completed 13 of 18 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown Friday. "Mac has played extremely well in the last couple of weeks and really has bought into what we do," Pederson said. "He'll still reverts back to his [New England] Patriot ways every now and then. We have to remind him he's in Jacksonville. But he has done a good job. He has done a good job managing and running the offense, getting everybody involved."
6. Pederson on playing starters and front-line players when the Falcons were playing mostly backups and reserves: "I don't look at it as far as us versus them that way. I look at it as just like us, our execution. Are we executing? Are we targeted the right way on the offensive line? Are we fitting gaps on defense? Are we in the right coverage leverage? We're still working on things. At the end of the day, when the ball is snapped, there's a man over you and you have to do your best to win that matchup. It's more about assignment football. When your starters don't play a ton [in the preseason], games like this matter because you want them to feel like they came away feeling good about themselves and execution was good."
