Loss At Home Could Have Dire Consequences For Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 0-4 with a home AFC South matchup on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. Head coach Doug Pederson cannot afford another embarrassing loss.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson watches as his team struggles to get a first down during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sept. 23, 2024. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars desperately need a win this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. This is not Jaguars coach Doug Pederson’s first losing streak as a coach in the National Football League or since he joined the Jaguars.

He noted a similar skid in 2022 as a point of reference for how to move forward.

“I mean, obviously you can go back and look and dive into that. Nobody wants to be 0-4, nobody wants to be where we are. We feel like, we should be obviously further along,” Pederson said. 

“I'm just sitting there thinking back to that time where it's just – it was a play kind of very similar. It was kind of a play here, play there, a missed assignment here, missed assignment there that just kept us from either, finishing a drive or finishing games back then. 

“I think it's kind of the same thing now. It just takes one. It takes one takeaway, it takes one touchdown drive, it takes one stop. Whatever it is, it just takes one, and then when you get one win, it can turn into multiple wins, which it did, back then.”

Pederson noted that Indianpolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is taking strides as a young quarterback in the league. Pederson also pointed out the Colts offense has a solid set of skill players surrounding Richardson. 

“I think obviously he's making strides,” Pederson said. “I think he just running the offense but has the ability to go off-schedule and make some great plays, and that's a characteristic of really good quarterbacks. His ability to run, we know that. 

“He's a big physical guy that can break out of an arm tackle. But he's working the system. He's working the offense. He's letting the guys around him work. That's what they ask him to do.”

“[The Colts have] a good solid group [of receivers.] One of the things you see, too, is that he trusts those guys to make plays for him. Again, I think he understands too and I think this is part of how he's being coached, is he doesn't have to do it all. 

“Just rely on these guys to make plays. I know injuries are part of the game, and they're banged up a little bit, too like we are, but at the same time, we got to make sure that, with this team too, you eliminate the explosive plays, which they can do.”

The Jaguars are 0-4, another loss would only be par for the course. However, if the Jaguars lose another home game in embarrassing fashion, deeper conversations about the future of the organization must be had.

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