Doug Pederson doesn't think playcalling the reason behind Jaguars offensive woes

The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently riding a four-game streak. While there could be many reasons for their team's recent struggles, head coach Doug Pederson doesn't think that playcalling on offense is one of them.

Pederson met with the local media Tuesday and was asked if he's considered claiming back playcalling duties from offensive coordinator Press Taylor in light of the Jags' inability to get the offense going. The head coach believes that's not the issue and instead expects the team to focus on execution.

"The one thing that I know, being around this league, is everybody wants to point the finger somewhere," Pederson said. "We've got to do a better job at taking care of the football. It's not about the plays. It's not about all that, we've got to tackle better and we got to take care of the football."

"Bottom line, we do those two things, those give us a chance to win football games. If we don't, then we're going to be sitting here, talking about this again. To me that's that's the glaring difference right now between between winning and losing," Pederson said.

The Jaguars rank 13th in the league in points scored entering Week 17. In the humiliating defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they managed to score a measly 12 points and those came when the game was well out of reach. The week before, they mustered just seven against the Baltimore Ravens, showing that this isn't a one-week occurrence.

Having said that, the Jaguars have shown some offensive efficiency at times this season. From Weeks 11-14, they averaged 29 points but drops, communication issues and penalties at the worst possible times still popped up.

To make matters worse, they haven't been able to get the running game going, but that has also had to do with personnel. Maybe that's why Pederson hasn't thought about getting playcalling duty back from Taylor.

Taylor took over playcalling for the Jaguars in 2023. Earlier in the season, a report surfaced that Doug Pederson had taken it back but he quickly dispelled it. However, the offense has been inconsistent, which could be why Pederson was asked about it.

Press Taylor isn't getting the most out of the Jaguars offense

Coordinator duties go beyond calling plays on game day. They also have to install the game plan and ensure practice is running smoothly. So even if Press Taylor is doing a good job of calling the offense, he's not making sure his players are ready to execute.

As Pederson noted, coaches don't have control over the players fumbling, or dropping a pass, but those are the kind of things practice is for. There, coordinators can look at things players are struggling with and help them overcome them. Given that these have been recurring issues, it's fair to wonder if Taylor and the rest of the staff are keeping an eye on this kind of thing. And if he is, maybe he needs to adjust his approach.

Going back to playcalling, it hasn't been particularly dreadful but there are a few things that could've been better. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Jaguars tried to run a reverse with Calvin Ridley knowing the offensive line had struggled to block, leading to a loss of 12 yards. Similarly, rookie wide receiver Elijah Cooks got three catches for 38 yards early in the game but he was suddenly stopped targeted.

These may be very specific instances. But in general, the Jaguars have been able to fix several issues that have held the offense back next season. If they continue, Doug Pederson should then consider taking over playcalling.

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