OC Press Taylor Confident This Offense Will Respond to QB Situation

Dec 05, 2024 at 05:23 PM

John Oehser

Jaguars Senior Writer

JACKSONVILLE – A temporary situation is now a bit more permanent.

That's the Jaguars' quarterback story entering the final five 2024 regular-season games – and Press Taylor said if it’s not an ideal scenario, it's one players have embraced.

It's Mac Jones' job for now, and players are ready.

"They've done a great job responding," Taylor said.

Taylor, in his third season as the Jaguars' offensive coordinator, spoke to the media Thursday in advance of a road game against the Tennessee Titans (3-9) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville Sunday. Jones in that game will make a third start in four games for the Jaguars (2-10) in place of starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.

"It's obviously tough," Taylor said. "Any time the face of the franchise, the leader of the team, the leader of the offense, goes down and has to go down on IR, it's a tough blow for everybody. I'm confident our guys will come to work and respond.

"I have a lot of confidence in our guys, though obviously we're crushed for Trevor, but obviously for ourselves as well."

Jones, who threw no touchdowns with three interceptions in back-to-back losses while starting with Lawrence out with a left – non-throwing – shoulder injury in Weeks 10 and 11, entered a 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans this past Sunday after Lawrence sustained a second-quarter concussion.

Jones, acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots in March, rallied the Jaguars from a seventeen-point deficit with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes against the Texans.

"He handled it the right way," Taylor said. "That's life as a backup. You're always one play away. You hope it's not that situation, but that's the reality of it – that as a quarterback, you're probably going in off an injury in the middle of a drive, in the middle of a game, and you have to try to get yourself in the flow of the game.

"Mac did a good job stepping in the huddle. There's a lot of emotion that's different from normal in those scenarios. He did good job of being where he was supposed to be at the right time and letting everybody operate the way they already were within the flow of the game.

"He did a good job finishing out the game and getting into a rhythm."

Taylor said the offensive game plan could be more geared to Jones' skillset now that he is starting for the foreseeable future.

"We've built a couple of [game] plans for him now, so we kind of understand things he does like," Taylor said. "Maybe you can expedite that process a little bit more. From that standpoint of knowing who you're building the game plan for and what he likes and doesn't like against certain things, that can help."

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

LB Ventrell Miller (51) and DE Josh Hines-Allen (41)

NOTABLE

Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen on second-year linebacker Ventrell Miller: "He has done a good job. He's a contact player and that's what you really like. He has run, hit. He does not slow down. The contact speed is fantastic. Where I've seen his growth is in coverage. He's doing a better job in coverage. Sometimes that takes a little time for a young player. But I've seen him get better every single game, every single day. You can see he's confident when he goes out on the field. It's not, 'Can I play at this level?' He knows he can."

QUOTABLE

Taylor on second-year wide receiver Parker Washington, who registered his first career 100-yard receiving game when he caught six passes for 103 yards and a touchdown against the Texans: "He has done a great job. The coolest thing is how he has grown as a receiver outside. He had a lot of wins in third-down situations, two-minute situations, where he was one-on-one outside on a corner. He did a great job getting himself open, making plays. When he gets in space, he's tough to tackle. We've kind of honed in on things that we think he does well, that he's very comfortable with and the quarterback's comfortable with him running."

NOTABLE

Punter Logan Cooke (left knee) and long snapper Ross Matiscik (hamstring) missed practice for a second consecutive day Thursday, with cornerback Tyson Campbell (thigh) practicing on a limited basis after missing practice Wednesday. Linebacker Yasir Abdullah (hamstring) and right guard Brandon Scherff (shoulder/knee) practiced limited for a second consecutive day. Washington (shoulder) practiced on a limited basis with a shoulder injury after practicing full Wednesday.

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Jacksonville, Fla. — Jaguars long snapper Tucker Addington (45) during practice at the Miller Electric Center on December 4, 2024.