KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Senior writer John Oehser examines Head Coach Doug Pederson's press conference following the Jaguars' 27-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a 2022 Week 10 game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday

1. Pederson's belief still remains strong in the team … Pederson made clear following a sixth loss in seven games Sunday that he very much believes in this team – and that he very much believes the Jaguars can still push to make the postseason. The Jaguars, after a 2-1 start, are now 3-7 and in third place in the AFC South entering a Week 11 bye. "It is not for lack of effort or anything like that at all," Pederson said. "We have played ten straight weeks now. The team needs a break at this time. It is a good time for it to kind of step away. I told them to kind of regroup and really think about the first ten, but more importantly, I want them to think of the next third of this season and really focus on that. I believe that our goals are still in front of us. We made it a little bit harder today, but I think if we continue to improve, anything is possible moving forward."
2. … and in Lawrence, too. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, completed 29 of 40 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions Sunday. His 106.1 passer rating marked his fifth game with a rating of more than 100 this season – and it also marked his second consecutive 100-plus rating game. "I thought he played well," Pederson said. "He had great poise. I know there was some pressure in the first half that we eliminated in the second half. He played tough and had some big moments out there. He had some big throws. He just keeps showing improvement each week and that is all we can ask for."
3. Same theme, new week. The Jaguars have talked after many games this season about missed opportunities and self-inflicted mistakes. That was Pederson's post-game theme again Sunday, and he focused on the Jaguars scoring just seven points on three takeaways and a game-opening onside kick recovery. "It was missed opportunities," Pederson said. "When you play great football teams, and the Chiefs are one of those great football teams who are well coached, you have to capitalize. I know they (the Chiefs) pride themselves of taking care of the football. When you can create those opportunities as a team, we have got to take advantage of that and we did not do that as a football team today. That is really the message."
4. "Only seven points." With missed opportunities the prevailing post-game theme among Pederson and Jaguars players, Pederson addressed the issue multiple times. The Jaguars not only recovered the onside kick, but they also recovered two Kansas City fumbles and intercepted Mahomes in the fourth quarter. "That is the game for me," Pederson said. "It comes down to missed opportunities. It is a learning opportunity for our football team that you create the takeaways, and you get a great play on special teams, and I mean special teams really kind of kept us in. The return game was outstanding today. I think we even had a turnover on special teams. We have to score more. We have to score more points off of those takeaways."
5. Tricky Doug. With the Chiefs entering Sunday's game No. 1 in the NFL in scoring and No. 2 in total yards, Pederson believed the Jaguars needed to "steal" at least one possession. He accomplished that on the game's first play when Jaguars kicker Riley Patterson recovered an onside kick at the Jaguars 46. The Jaguars managed a first down, then missed on a deep pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk before punting. "[Special teams coordinator] Heath [Farwell] and [special teams assistant] Luke [Thompson] do a great job of studying the opponents," Pederson said. "Anytime you can take advantage of an opportunity, we are going to try to do that, especially against a really good football team. You hope that by stealing that possession right there, you go down and get three or seven and you take a little sting out of the game a little bit and out of the crowd. It is unfortunate we got stopped in that first possession. We had opportunities. They were there, we just didn't capitalize on it. As the week went on, I just got more comfortable taking the onside if it was there."

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