Doug Pederson: Win Over Cowboys ‘Gives Our Guys Confidence in Who They Are as a Team’

The Jaguars are absolutely rolling after Sunday's win over the Dallas Cowboys, giving them a big boost heading into the week's final three games.

The feeling in Jacksonville's locker room on Sunday was one that hasn't been felt in a long, long time. 

Last week, the Jaguars beat the bully on the block. This week, the Jaguars proved it wasn't a fluke, beating the 10-4 Dallas Cowboys in a thrilling 40-34 overtime victory, overcoming a 27-10 deficit and proving that they are a team nobody wants to play in December. 

Just happy for the guys, man. They never gave up. We talked about it last night at the hotel. We talked about it again today. We just kept chipping away against a really good football team," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game. 

"That's a well-coached unit. They're obviously one of the top teams in the league. But this win today, I think, kind of just gives our guys confidence in who they are as a team."

The Jaguars have picked up impressive wins before this season, such as vs. the Los Angeles Chargers, the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans last week. But no win came against a team like the Cowboys, whose roster is among the best in the NFL. 

On Sunday, though, the Jaguars hung with the Cowboys every step of the way. The Cowboys punched first, but the Jaguars punched back. The Cowboys delivered potential knockout blows, but the Jaguars got up, dusted themselves off and punched back even harder.

"Listen, our guys -- I don't really think they worry too much about where it is, what the score is. I really don't. I just think they keep focused on their job and keep getting better at what they're doing in game, and as I said, we just keep chipping away," Pederson said. 

"Somewhere, we're going to get a stop on defense or a takeaway. Somewhere, we're going to score a touchdown or a field goal on offense, special teams are going to step up. That's why you play 60 minutes. So I think it's just a matter of the guys just kind of trusting in themselves and gaining confidence as the game goes on."

Rayshawn Jenkins was one of those players on Sunday, picking off Dak Prescott twice, with the final one being a walk-off pick-six to win the game. Trevor Lawrence was another, throwing four touchdown passes for the first time in his NFL career and overcoming two potentially critical turnovers. 

But they weren't alone. There was Tre Herndon with a critical deflection on the final turnover. There was Zay Jones with three touchdown catches. Walker Little playing two different tackle positions. Riley Patterson with a clutch field goal. Arden Key with two sacks.

The list is endless. It was a complete, team win -- something the Jaguars have finally learned how to do.

"These guys are playing with a lot of confidence. They're playing together. We're playing complementary football. Early in the season we probably weren't," Pederson said. 

"We're doing that now. I guess the biggest thing, too, so if we just continue to focus on us and keep it internal, I do think that good things are going to happen for this team, and they're starting to show up. We still have a long way to go, even with three games. We're on a short week, playing on Thursday night, on the road. It's tough. We've got to check out the injury situation. We've got our work cut out for us still." 

The Jaguars will have to perform a quick turnaround, playing the New York Jets in four days. But for now, the Jaguars are entering Week 16 and are just one game behind the Titans in the AFC. 

"Well, I don't get into a lot of that as much as I want our team to understand that we need to be playing meaningful football games in December and January, and we've put ourselves in that position," Pederson said. 

"So I'm proud of the guys for doing that. Our season could have gone sideways three, four weeks ago, and the guys weren't going to let that happen. I don't get caught up in all the storylines and all that, the shoulda-coulda-wouldas. It's just a matter of those guys in that dressing room believing in themselves and getting the job done."

Photo via Chris Leduc.