Jaguars' Doug Pederson loved what he saw from his defense vs. Ravens
When you score only seven points, it's hard to be optimistic about anything. That's how most feel about the Jacksonville Jaguars from the Sunday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens. They lost 23-7, but the game was much closer than the score would suggest. Well, it was closer for most of the game.The penalties, […]
When you score only seven points, it's hard to be optimistic about anything. That's how most feel about the Jacksonville Jaguars from the Sunday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens. They lost 23-7, but the game was much closer than the score would suggest. Well, it was closer for most of the game.
The penalties, self-inflicted wounds, and many other things held the offense back during a primetime TV game. Doug Pederson was brutally honest about it all, and frankly, he wasn't very happy, and why should he be? These are the same issues that have been happening every week.
The team is frustrated. Josh Allen, who asked for the cameras to be cut so he could voice his frustration, is frustrated. Everyone is frustrated. However, there is one thing Doug Pederson did like from the game on Sunday, which would be the defense.
"I did. Gosh, through three quarters, it's a 10-7 ballgame," Pederson said. "Defense was playing really well. That's a good offense too, that's a dynamic quarterback and they're going to make some plays. They did, but I thought defensively, we came away with 3.0 sacks, we had the one takeaway, it wasn't until later in the game that the rushing yards began to pile up.
"Of course, Lamar [Ravens QB Lamar Jackson] had 97 or so yards himself. That's who he is. The defense really kept us in the game; I thought we were physical up front. The backend did a nice job of covering the receivers and we were much more disciplined in our gap integrity, our gap assignments. So, yeah I felt good about the defense."
The Jaguars' defense has also had moments where they have been up and down on the season. Against the Cleveland Browns, they allowed several huge plays that turned into touchdowns. However, they also forced three turnovers. It's been like that all year with them – hit or miss.
But in this game, the defense contained Lamar Jackson about as much as you can contain Lamar Jackson. He is an MVP candidate for a reason, and while he did shred the Jaguars on the ground, he didn't do much through the air when you look at the game as a whole. The Jaguars will have to play another hot quarterback on Sunday in Baker Mayfield.
Doug Pederson says that Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence has entered concussion protocol
The Jaguars lost to the Ravens on Sunday Night Football.
