Jaguars Coach Has Interesting Response to Mac Jones, Approach

The Jacksonville Jaguars will start QB Mac Jones for the second consecutive week. How confident are they in his abilities?

Nov 10, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones (10) celebrates his touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been battered with injuries to critical players for essentially the entire season. It finally hit their quarterback room when starting quarterback Trevor Lawerence went down with an injury a couple of weeks ago.

This forced the Jaguars to turn to quarterback Mac Jones to lead the team. Against the Minnesota Vikings, Jones threw for 111 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Still, Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor says he learned a lot about Jones in his start last week.

“Yeah, I think you learn a lot from being in the fire with somebody. We’ve seen Mac [Jones]  in preseason games, in camp, in practice, and all that,” Taylor said. “Nothing can replicate a game, so there’s a lot of good you want to continue to build upon and things like that, that you recognize Mac’s really comfortable with and Mac sees really well throughout the course of the game. 

“But every game, every week, is so different. The opponent you’re playing, who’s available to you on offense, and how you try to create the matchups or the looks you try to create. It's about putting everybody in the best possible position, but there's a lot that Mac is very capable of, that our offense as a whole is very capable of, that we're trying to continue to find a way to get the best out of.”

Taylor noted that it is part of his duties as the team’s offensive coordinator to protect the confidence of the team’s quarterbacks. This is especially true with a former starter who joined Jacksonville to be their backup quarterback, only to now starting for the team.

The last thing Taylor wants is a backup quarterback taking the field with no confidence.

“I think in this business you just keep going forward,” Taylor said. “You have to. There's a game on the schedule. We play Sunday, so it's how you approach, how you handle postgame, what that looks like, and how long it takes you to get back. We tell everybody about it, by the time you walk in Wednesday, it's over. Players especially. 

“Good, bad, indifferent, whatever it is, Wednesday is the start of a new week, no matter what happened the week before. I think our guys do a good job of keeping that kind of tunnel vision where you can sulk. 

“You can celebrate, you can do whatever happened on Sunday. Monday, that typically happens. Usually, on Tuesday, most guys are moved on, but by Wednesday, there are no excuses. We are rolling forward. I think that's just the professional aspect of the guys we have around.They do a good job of being able to keep their head down and keep moving.”

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