WATCH: Jaguars' Doug Pederson Speaks After Massive Trade

What did Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson about Week 9 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles?

Oct 27, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson before the game against the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson spoke on Wednesday, and as always we were there for it all.

To view Pederson's press conference, view above.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson spoke on Monday. Below is a transcript.

Q: On an injury update for WR Christian Kirk?

Pederson: “Had surgery this morning, so he's done. Yeah, unfortunate. Trying to make play late. Landed on it. Linebacker fell on him. Yeah. Tough. Tough for him. Tough for us, but he'll pull through and he'll be better.”

Q: On an injury update for WR Brian Thomas Jr.?

Pederson: “He’s just got a little contusion on the left side of his chest. It's going to be sore. It's kind of a day-to-day thing.”

Q: On if Thomas Jr. is expected to be available for Week 9 vs. Philadelphia?

Pederson: “Yeah, I think it's more about how much he can tolerate.”

Q: On other injury updates?

Pederson: “Gabe [WR Gabe Davis] should be fine. Again, it was just the shoulder. He just lost some feeling in there and we were just kind of waiting for that to come back a little bit during the game. Sometimes those are funny things but should be fine. Ezra [OL Ezra Cleveland], ankle. He will be probably, as of today, probably day-to-day going into the weekend. Scherff [OL Brandon Scherff] came back. Scherff's going to be sore. Tough guy. Battled. Came back, finished the game. Should be okay for this weekend. Darby [CB Ronald Darby] will be more day-to-day.”

Q: On WR Parker Washington stepping into his role?

Pederson: “Yeah, I mean, he did some great things yesterday. He's a player that has proven that he can do it. So, we have a lot of confidence moving forward that he can fill that role, fill that spot.”

Q: On OL Cooper Hodges’ performance Sunday vs. Green Bay?

Pederson: “Yeah, I mean, tough. He plays right guard, then he has to go into at tight end for PAT, field goal, then he has to go left guard. He was all over the place. It wasn't perfect, but if he has to go this week with a week of preparation, a week of practice, getting all the reps, all that kind of stuff, he'll be much better. It was good for him to play just to kind of feel game speed a little bit, and did some good things, but I think a week of work if that's the case will do him good.”

Q: On QB Trevor Lawrence settling into the game and the offense’s slower start?

Pederson: “Yeah, it's hard. I mean, gosh, I mean you look at it yesterday. Had a good start, first down, what, a six to seven-yard completion on first down to Tank [RB Tank Bigsby]? And then two incompletions. I mean those are just things we've got to continue to look at. It's just that execution part, right? As coaches making the decisions and the type of calls that we're making, and just look at it and make sure we're doing the right thing there. But again, it took us into the second quarter against New England to get going, and it took us about to the 14th play of this game to get us going. So that's something we've got to look at and really make an emphasis of starting like the way we finish. That would be ideal as we move forward.”

Q: On if he was pleased with the way the team rallied from a 10-point deficit?

Pederson: “Yeah, I am. I'm very pleased at how we respond. You don't want to be down 10, but there's two weeks in a row we've been down 10, but we've responded. The fact that we did what we did at the end to tie the football game is pretty remarkable considering the amount of injuries we had late in the game. Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence], I thought did a great job leading the team. The guys around him, Parker, Tim [WR Tim Jones], Evan [TE Evan Engram], Brenton [TE Brenton Strange], I mean, they made plays for him too. The offensive line did some good things. So that part of it was good and now we’ve just, somehow, got to get that to translate to the first play of the game and then carry on from there.”

Q: On the defense’s struggles?

Pederson: “It's just something that as we look at the tape, look at the personnel, you try to put you try to put a finger on it. Is it the scheme? Is it the execution by the players? I would say it's a little of both right now. Look, bottom line is sometimes, and I'm not saying this is the this is the case, but you don't want to do too much on the field, right? You don't want to take things into your own hands and think you’ve got to do somebody else—we just ask you to do your job. Coaches coach, players play, all that. But just do your job and we'll be fine. When you see the good out there, that's what's happening. All 11 are playing as one. But sometimes every now and then you get the one guy that maybe he's out of his gap or does something a little bit different or forgot an assignment or something like that, and it hurts us. Those are the things we're trying to clean up right now and just making sure we continue to coach. Coach the details, coach the finer points and try to eliminate some of that.”

Q: On his level of concern about the pass rush?

Pederson: “Yeah, I mean, obviously you want to affect the passer, and you go in each week thinking you can. Listen, we’ve got to take a look at it. I do believe still we’ve got the right guys there. Whether we move them more or bring five-man pressure, six-man pressures, whatever we’ve got to do to affect the passer, we’ve got to be able to do that. I know Ryan [Defensive Coordinator Ryan Nielsen] is looking hard at that, takes a lot of pride in that. It’s an area that we've got to improve.”

Q: On if he will take more of an active role in defensive game planning) “No. Listen, I leave it up to the experts over there. I'm an offensive guy. I'm going to stay on the offense. I'm going to help where I can. I can help with personnel and different decisions that way, but as far as when it comes to scheme and all that, I mean, that's what they get paid to do and let them do their jobs.”

Q: On changing up the personnel on offense?

Pederson: “Well, I mean, I think it changes just for the nature of the people that are on the field. But yeah, I mean, missing Christian [WR Christian Kirk] is going to sting a little bit. Obviously, his leadership and the way he's been playing, but we’ll see this week where BT is and we know—it’s really you're just asking Parker to kind of step into Christian’s spot, and we feel very comfortable there. So, I don't think there's going to be a whole bunch of changes schematically. We just have to put our players in the best situations, meaning take their strengths and utilize that in the game plan.”

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE