Jags' Pederson vague on Lawrence, vows changes

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson isn’t ruling anything out when it comes to making changes in the wake of his team’s 0-3 start.

Maybe not even regarding quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

“There has to be changes, whether it’s play design, personnel, everything,” Pederson said after the 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Monday night. “Everything’s on the table, let’s call it, and those are all things that I have to look at, we have to look at as a staff and make the adjustments.”

However, when asked if that included changes to the starting lineup and applied to Lawrence, Pederson was noncommittal.

“You say everything is on the table, we’ve got to take a look at injury,” he said. “Tonight, we had some guys injured. Could be moved that way. Could be performance. It’s all things we have to evaluate as we move forward.”

The Jaguars (0-3) have been a mess offensively since the first half of the season opener against Miami. They’ve scored just 23 points and converted 5 of 27 third downs in the past 10 quarters.

Lawrence has completed 47.5% of his passes for 432 yards and one touchdown with one interception and has been sacked 10 times in that span.

Against Buffalo he was 21-of-38 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown with one interception. That was his eighth consecutive loss as a starter, and he hasn’t won a start in 302 days dating back to a Week 12 victory at Houston last season.

“That’s the NFL: The quarterback has to play well every week to give yourself a shot to win, and I don’t feel like I’ve done that consistently enough, so I put that on myself, and I’ve got to play better,” Lawrence said.

Pederson was blunt when asked if Lawrence needed to play markedly better than he has so far in 2024: “I need everybody to coach and play better. Let’s leave it at that.”

But Lawrence isn’t solely to blame for the team’s 0-3 start. The defense played the worst half of football in franchise history against the Bills, giving up 34 points (the most it has allowed in a first half) and allowing Bills quarterback Josh Allen to throw for 247 yards and four touchdowns. The defense, already down two starters in the secondary because of injury (cornerback Tyson Campbell and nickelback Darnell Savage), lost nickelback Jarrian Jones to a shoulder injury.

Linebacker Foyesade Oluokun also left the game with a foot injury.

Right tackle Anton Harrison left the game with a knee injury, and receiver Gabe Davis left the game with a shoulder injury.

In short, things are messy for the Jaguars right now, and while Pederson said everything’s on the table, he’s at a loss for how to fix things.

“This is who we are right now and it’s not very good,” he said. “We have to be honest with ourselves and I’ve got to be honest with myself and just keep plugging away.

“We’ve got the right guys. The right guys are in the room, and the right leaders. I’ve got to figure out a way to get more out of them, and it’s not more from practicing harder, longer. It’s just getting more, whether it’s leadership during games, how they address the team, whatever that looks like. Those are the things I got to figure out.”

As if the embarrassing loss wasn’t enough for the Jaguars to endure, the team charter was experiencing mechanical issues and the team’s departure from Highmark Stadium was delayed, per a team spokesperson. The team had not yet left the stadium as of 1 a.m. ET.