Doug Pederson sees similarities between 2022 Jaguars and 2017 Eagles

Doug Pederson played a big role in the Philadelphia Eagles winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history in 2017. That’s one of the reasons he was an appealing choice to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach following the dismissal of Urban Meyer in December 2021.

After a lengthy process, Pederson got the job and almost one year later, he’s got the Jags on the verge of making the playoffs. Following Jacksonville’s dominant win over the Houston Texans in Week 17, Pederson met with the local media and said that he sees some similarities between this year’s Jaguars and the 2017 Eagles.

“The teams that are in the postseason conversation this time of the year, everybody kind of feels that bond amongst the team”, Pederson said. “It’s a genuine bond. It’s something that builds over the course of the year. Every team, you go through adversity, you got the highs, the lows of the season”.

“We had that stretch in October. That wasn’t very good for us but that builds your character, your team, and we stayed the course, we stayed true to what we were doing. And guys do become closer, they understand each other a little bit better, so as you get into games like this, you know the player next to you has your back just like you have his back. That’s where we’re at with this football team that can carry a good way”, Pederson said.

The Jags went 4-0 in that October stretch Pederson referred to. However, they’ve gone 6-2 since then and can make the playoffs if they beat the Tennessee Titans in the season finale. Here’s the exchange he had with the media Monday. He starts talking about the similarities between Jacksonville and the 2017 Eagles at the 8:52 mark:

Can the 2022 Jaguars make an unexpected run like the 2017 Eagles?

Just like Philly back in 2017, the Jags have an ascending quarterback. The Eagles had Carson Wentz, who was playing at an MVP level before suffering an ACL that ended his season prematurely.

Trevor Lawrence has also made a huge leap in his second season at the helm and has been playing like to top-10 quarterback since Week 9, completing over 70 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

In Wentz’s absence, the Eagles rallied behind backup Nick Foles, who led the way throughout the playoffs and helped them beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52. Also, Philly’s defense was playing at a high level and had a group of veterans such as left tackle Jason Peters, center Jason Kelce, defensive lineman Brandon Graham and defensive end Chris Long that kept the team focused and as Pederson said, had each other’s backs.

The 2022 Jaguars are close. Whenever you hear Lawrence or any of his teammates talk, they talk about how they support each other. Similarly, they have a nice mix of veterans and intriguing young players on both sides of the ball. Although they failed to play complementary football early in the year, the offense, the defense, and special teams have all done their job since they started their midseason turnaround.

The Jaguars are one win away from making the playoffs. If they’re building momentum at the right time and if they keep playing the way they have, who knows? Maybe they make an unexpected run like the 2017 Eagles and win it all. Will it be tough? Definitely but it wouldn’t be shocking. After all, you should always come to expect the unexpected when it comes to the NFL.