The Jacksonville Jaguars entered Week 9 with a slight chance of staying in the thick of the playoff race. Early in the fourth quarter, they made things interesting and had the Philadelphia Eagles against the ropes. Unfortunately, their slow start came back to haunt them, and ultimately lost. With the postseason virtually out of reach, the Jags must start planning for the future and that means moving on from head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke as soon as possible.
Jacksonville logged just 31 yards in the first two quarters, the second-worst offensive output in the first half of a game in team history. As Michael DiRocco of ESPN pointed out, the worst was 18 yards against the Green Bay Packers in 1995.
The Jaguars' 31 yards of offense in the first half today is the second-fewest in franchise history for a first half, per ESPN Research. The record is 18 yards against the Packers in 1995.
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) November 3, 2024
By the third quarter, Jacksonville had surrendered 22 points, so nobody would've batted an eye if the Jaguars had thrown in the towel. But out of nowhere, defensive end Travon Walker scored a touchdown on a fumble running back Saquon Barkley lost.
This was ruled a fumble by Saquon https://t.co/hlJLJjJZl4 pic.twitter.com/UDYSeUyPKJ
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) November 3, 2024
Aside from giving the Jaguars a breath of fresh air, the play turned heads because the referees ruled it a fumble despite the fact that the running back was down. Following Walker's touchdown, Jacksonville went for two points. The attempt was successful and they drew within 22-16 of Philadelphia.
On the next drive, the Jags made a defensive stand and recovered the ball on downs. The offense wasn't able to capitalize on the opportunity and punted. Philly wasted no time and put together an aggressive drive that ended on a touchdown reception to wide receiver DeVonte Smith to make it 28-16. Still, Jacksonville had a chance to win the game, so they responded with a touchdown of their own to make it 28-22.
With less than five minutes in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia drove toward the Jaguars' red zone but got stopped at the 39-yard line and failed a field-goal attempt. With one last chance to win the game, Jacksonville marched down the Eagles' red zone and got all the way to their 13-yard. Trevor Lawrence threw an interception and Philly drained the remaining time on the clock to win.
In the end, Trevor Lawrence was 16-of-31 for 169 yards with two interceptions. The Jaguars generated 215 yards on offense and 14 first downs, while the defense allowed a concerning 6.1 yards per play.
The Jaguars must dismiss Doug Pederson and start planning for 2025
The Jaguars are now 2-7 and virtually eliminated from playoff contention. While Trevor Lawrence deserves plenty of criticism for throwing an interception with the game on the line, it's important to point out that the team looked uninspiring throughout the game. Drops, missed tackles, missed assignments, you call it, Jacksonville lacked execution in the first half, and that's on Doug Pederson.
Granted, the Jags had been competitive at times and showed fight in different games at different points of the season, but that won't cut it. You are what your record says you are, and Jacksonville is an underachieving team that's been poorly coached based on its record.
The trouble isn't that they lost a competitive game in Week 9, but rather that they find different ways to lose week in and week out. Maybe it's true that he hasn't lost the locker room as it was reported after the Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans, but he's not putting his players in a position to succeed either.
When you take into account that the Jaguars have lost 12 of 15 games dating back to Week 13, it will be extremely hard for the Jaguars to justify keeping him after the loss to his former team. He's had ample time to show he deserves to be at the helm and has failed to deliver. It's time Jacksonville moves on. Both parties deserve a fresh start.