Jacksonville Jaguars HC Doug Pederson not fond of cockroaches

Cockroaches are hard to get rid of, so it makes sense that safety Rayshawn Jenkins compared them to the Jacksonville Jaguars following their 31-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Super Wild Card Weekend. However, head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t seem to like Jenkins’ analogy.

Pederson met with the media Monday and said he thinks roaches are disgusting and isn’t sure if the Jags are like them.

“Cockroaches are kind of disgusting”, Pederson said. “Maybe that’s what we are, I don’t know. I would probably use a different analogy. Players and coaches, we all see it differently but the same. We’re a tough football team. We’re a physical football team. Those are things we kind of pride ourselves in.

“We’re not perfect, we’re still making mistakes. It was evident Saturday. But one thing our team is gonna do is they’re gonna battle, they’re gonna keep fighting and scratching and clawing and we’re gonna give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter, that’s what I hope he meant by us being cockroaches”.

Roaches spread diseases and can become a pest, so it’s easy to see why Pederson wasn’t fond of the comparison. Then again, Jenkins’ comments were pretty harmless and it’s possible that it was the first thing that came to his mind after the win. Had he shared his thoughts about the win at a different time, maybe he would’ve thought of different animal. Here’s a clip of his comments, via Mia O’Brien of 1010 XL.

A honey badger may be a more apt comparison to the Jaguars in 2022

The Jaguars came back from behind several times during the regular season and it was no different against the Chargers. Trailing 27-7 at halftime, nobody would have blamed you if you changed the TV Channel. However, the offense scored every time they got the ball in the second half while the defense held Los Angeles to a measly three points.

As cliche as it may sound, the Jaguars won’t stop fighting even if they are in an unfavorable position. And if they lose, it won’t be for a lack of effort. Given that Pederson says the Jags will keep scratching and clawing, they might be closer to honey badgers than cockroaches.

After all, honey badgers are known for their relentlessness and for not letting go of their prey even if they suffer serious injuries. If you think about it, that’s more or less what the Jaguars did against the Bolts. They didn’t hunt them but they didn’t let them off the hook either and fought their way back.

In the end, it doesn’t matter if you think the Jags are like wallabies, rhinos, or octopuses. What’s important is that they won’t give up without a fight and that’s precisely what they’ll need to do when they visit the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the 2022 NFL Playoffs.