JACKSONVILLE – It's about pride and professionalism now.
That's less than ideal, but it's the Jaguars' reality – a reality veteran center Mitch Morse discussed this week as the Jaguars approached midseason in a difficult situation.
They're 2-6, with postseason talk silent for now.
"This is when we get to test being professionals," Morse said.
The Jaguars, after two consecutive 9-8 seasons, started the 2024 season 0-4. They have won two of four games since, but their third last-play loss of the season – 30-27 to the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium Sunday – left them four games behind the Houston Texans in the AFC South with nine games remaining.
The approach as October becomes November? Work, focus and prepare for the next game.
"There's no rah-rah speech," Morse said. "There's no grand gesture that's going to change stuff besides doing your job and stressing that to everyone else. We're going to go out and put our best foot forward. We'll stack a few wins here coming soon."
The Jaguars narrowly missed a third victory in four weeks Sunday, rallying twice from ten-point deficits for a 27-27 tie with 1:48 remaining despite a slew of injuries that included wide receivers Christian Kirk, Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis missing the final two drives.
The Jaguars scored 10 points on those two drives to rally from a 27-17 deficit, but the Packers drove quickly for the game-winning field goal as time expired.
Back at the Bank and it feels so good. 😤 Swipe through our best in game photos during our Week 8 matchup of the 2024 NFL Season.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Brian Thomas Jr. (7)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Jarrian Jones (22)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Brandon Scherff (68)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DT DaVon Hamilton (52)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Mitch Morse (65), OL Brandon Scherff (68), and OL Cooper Hodges (75)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Mitch Morse (65)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Ronald Darby (25)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Travon Walker (44)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
QB Trevor Lawrence (16)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Tyson Campbell (3)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Evan Engram (17)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Brian Thomas Jr. (7), WR Christian Kirk (13), and WR Tim Jones (15)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Brian Thomas Jr. (7)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Parker Washington (11)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DT Jeremiah Ledbetter (99)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
HC Doug Pederson
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
LB Ventrell Miller (51)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Travon Walker (44) and LB Yasir Abdullah (56)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
RB Tank Bigsby (4)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
RB Tank Bigsby (4)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Tim Jones (15)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Josh Hines-Allen (41) and DE Travon Walker (44)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
LB Foyesade Oluokun (23) and LB Ventrell Miller (51)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Josiah Deguara (81)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Brenton Strange (85)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Josh Hines-Allen (41)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Tyson Campbell (3)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
RB Tank Bigsby (4)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Mitch Morse (65)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Christian Kirk (13)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Cooper Hodges (75)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DT Tyler Lacy (93)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Jarrian Jones (22)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
LS Ross Matiscik (46)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
QB Trevor Lawrence (16)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Tyson Campbell (3)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Evan Engram (17)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Travon Walker (44)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
LB Ventrell Miller (51)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Anton Harrison (77) and OL Brandon Scherff (68)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
QB Trevor Lawrence (16)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
QB Trevor Lawrence (16) and OL Walker Little (72)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Brian Thomas Jr. (7)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Tyson Campbell (3)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Evan Engram (17), WR Christian Kirk (13), and QB Trevor Lawrence (16)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Evan Engram (17)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB De'Antre Prince (24) and CB Jarrian Jones (22)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Walker Little (72)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
RB D'Ernest Johnson (2)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Brenton Strange (85)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
QB Trevor Lawrence (16)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
LB Devin Lloyd (33)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
LB Devin Lloyd (33)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Parker Washington (11)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Brenton Strange (85)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Brian Thomas Jr. (7)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Tyson Campbell (3)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
QB Trevor Lawrence (16)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
LB Chad Muma (48)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Brian Thomas Jr. (7)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DT DaVon Hamilton (52)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB De'Antre Prince (24)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Christian Kirk (13)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Brian Thomas Jr. (7)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Travon Walker (44) and LB Yasir Abdullah (56)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Jarrian Jones (22)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
TE Brenton Strange (85)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Josh Hines-Allen (41) and DE Travon Walker (44)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Travon Walker (44)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
LB Devin Lloyd (33)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
S Darnell Savage (6)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Walker Little (72)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Josh Hines-Allen (41) and DE Travon Walker (44)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Cooper Hodges (75)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
P Logan Cooke (9) and K Cam Little (39)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
CB Montaric Brown (30)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
WR Tim Jones (15)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
DE Travon Walker (44)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Green Bay Packers
OL Mitch Morse (65)
"Losing sucks, nobody likes to lose," second-year guard Cooper Hodges said. "We don't want get in that routine of, 'That's what we're doing, we're losing.' If you look at the game, all of the bad positions we put ourselves in, we were able to dig ourselves out.
"It's going to be great for us to be able to build off of this. In our minds, we felt like, 'No way we're losing this game.' We felt that as a team. We felt that together. It obviously didn't go our way, but when you feel that feeling you just want to carry that going forward.
"If we can keep that feeling and carry it to next week, we'll be just fine."
NOTABLE
- Hodges, a seventh-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft from Appalachian State, drew praise from teammates and coaches after playing his first career offensive snaps Sunday. "It was good, dipping my toes in and getting used to it," Hodges said. Hodges first entered Sunday's game at right guard in place of Brandon Scherff (knee). After Scherff reentered, Hodges finished the game at left guard for Ezra Cleveland (ankle). "Cooper did a good job," Morse said. "He put his best foot forward as a professional at both guards. That's a tough situation to be put in. He played admirably. It should give him a lot of confidence in the future if he has to do the same. It gave us a lot of confidence in him. We all told him we were proud of him. He has a bright future in this league." Said Head Coach Doug Pederson, "He was all over the place. It wasn't perfect, but if he has to go this week with a week of preparation, a week of practice, getting all the reps, all that kind of stuff, he'll be much better. It was good for him to play just to kind of feel game speed a little bit, and did some good things, but I think a week of work if that's the case will do him good." Hodges called playing both guards "a transition that's different," adding, "You kind of have to think backwards. It's the same thing, just going the other way. It's more of a mind thing than a physical thing. It definitely is different."
NOTABLE
- The Jaguars through eight games rank No. 29 in the NFL in yards allowed per game at 382.1 and are also tied for 29th in the league with 28.0 points allowed per game. They rank 19th in the league with 17 sacks and have three defensive takeaways after forcing 27 turnovers each of the last two seasons. "As we look at the tape, look at the personnel, you try to put a finger on it," Pederson said. "Is it the scheme? Is it the execution of players? I would say it's a little of both right now." Pederson added, "You don't want to do too much on the field. You don't want to take things in your own hands and think you have to do somebody else's [job]. Coaches coach, players play, but just do your job and we'll be fine. When you see the good out there, that's what's happening. All 11 are playing as one. But sometimes, every now and then, you get the one guy that's maybe out of his gap or does something a little bit different or forgot an assignment or something like that and it hurts us. Those are the things we're trying to clean up right now. Just making sure we continue to coach the details, coach the finer points, and try to eliminate some of that."
