Doug Pederson gets Jaguars rivalry with Titans, 3 Week 14 takeaways

The Jaguars team that beat the Titans in Week 14 is built differently

Trevor Lawrence rightfully deserves plenty of praise following the Jaguars’ dismantling of the Titans. After all, he had a career day in Week 14, going 30-of-42 for 368 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Moreover, Lawrence added a touchdown on the ground for a total of four and became the first quarterback in franchise history to throw for 3,000 yards in each of his two first seasons. But as important as he’s for the Jaguars’ long-term future, Doug Pederson has also played a key role in steadily turning things around.

As John Shipley of Fan Nation noted, Jaguars teams from previous years would have folded once the Titans had the lead but not Pederson’s bunch.

Pederson doesn’t let the highs get too high and the lows too low. He’s straightforward and knows how to get his message across but he will also adjust it to each individual player. This also applies to his coaching staff. He tells them what his vision is and what it takes to get it down.

The Jaguars could’ve thrown the towel following the loss to the Lions but instead had them fighting against the Titans as if last week hadn’t happened.

You will often hear coaches talk about taking it one day at a time but Pederson does it. That’s why the Jags are 5-8 with four games left in the season, which isn’t particularly impressive but it’s noteworthy when you take into account that the Jags have only won six games in a year just once since 2008 and the last time they won five was in 2019.

Progress sometimes takes time and Rome wasn’t built on one day but it’s evident the Jaguars have made significant strides in Pederson’s first year with the team.