How the Jaguars Continue to Beat Themselves

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 1-5 on the season. While they have been outplayed in nearly every game by their opponents, they also continue to beat themselves.

Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram (17) during the second half of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images / Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars have lost five of their first six games this season, after losing five of their final six games last season.

A lot of teams have beaten the Jaguars lately but no team has beaten the Jaguars as much as the Jaguars have beaten themselves. That was again the case Sunday against the Chicago Bears, when the Jaguars were penalized six times for 44 yards.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson noted that although the players are playing hard, it is undeniable that the penalties that were called on Sunday hurt the team. Still, Pederson also put some of the responsibility for the team’s penalties on the coaching staff.

Regardless of who is to blame, penalties remains a growing issue for the Jaguars.

“Yeah, those are penalties that really hurt,” Pederson said. “Again, taking nothing away from the players.  They're playing hard. They're putting everything out on the field. We keep talking.  We'll just keep showing them.  We had the 12 men on the field, and there was a substitution change.  I put that one on us as coaches.  That's on us. So, everybody has a piece of this.  It's not just coaching, not just players.  It's all of us, and that's where it has to start.”

Veteran defender Josh Hines-Allen echoed a similar sentiment as Pederson. However, Hines-Allen believed the defense, specifically, did a solid job overall on Sunday.

Still, he emphasized that the defense, as well as the rest of the team, must find a way to eliminate the penalties if they hope to have better success moving forward.

“I mean, I think, again, outside of the penalties, if you look at the play, we were getting off the field,” Hines-Allen said. “So, we did a better job up front of just getting to the quarterback, getting him off his spot. All being, it was just the penalties. I can't really speak on what put them in that position to feel like he needed to be there, but at the end of the day, we still had to respond and still get off the field, and we didn't do a good job of that today.”

Penalties are just one of the many ways the Jaguars are beating themselves. Multiple dropped touchdown passes, lack of execution, injuries and turnovers have all played a part in the Jaguars' 1-5 start. They will have to work hard to overcome all of the things working against them.

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