Doug Pederson inadvertently throws Jaguars DC under the bus after loss to Dolphins

Overall, the Jacksonville Jaguars did a good job of containing the Miami Dolphins' offense in Week 1. However, it wasn't good enough to win the game. While you could make the case that the offense deserves more blame for not being able to seal the deal, head coach Doug Pederson believes the defense must step up.

Pederson met with the local media the Monday after the loss. He said that the defense must be coached better when asked if they didn't expect the 63-yard completion to Jaylen Waddle in the middle of the field.

"We were in Cover 2," Pederson said. "Unfortunately, I'll say this, I'll never do this. We have to coach to play better."

Later, when told that Tyreek Hill's 80-yard touchdown reception looked like good play designed, Pederson once again said that they had to coach it better.

If you take away those two plays, the defense held Miami to six points and 257 total yards. Of course, that's not how things work. Still, the Jags limited their high-powered offense, the best one in the league last year to 20 points. That's not bad. In fact, they did their part but the same cannot be said about the offseason.

Leading 17-7 late in the third quarter and with a chance to make it 24-7, running back Travis Etienne fumbled the football. Ok, mistakes happen, and the former Clemson Tiger didn't single-handedly lose the game. The trouble is that the offense didn't score a single time in the second half. Yet, Pederson believes the defense must play better. Consciously or inadvertently, he threw defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen under the bus when he said players must be coached better.

It was a slight remark but it was unnecessary. You could argue that Doug P didn't want to put the blame on the players but he didn't have to call out Nielsen and could have easily credited the Dolphins for coming up with a great play. He didn't, and the 2024 Jaguars currently don't look very different from last year's counterpart after the loss in the season opener: A team stacked with talent that cannot finish the job.

Ryan Nielsen did a fine job vs. the Dolphins, the Jaguars offense is a bigger area of concern

As talented and deserving of the win as the Miami Dolphins are, the Jacksonville Jaguars let that game slip out of their hands in the second half. It's true that the defense must play even better but head coach Doug Pederson was overly harsh when he said Ryan Nielsen must coach his unit better.

What's disappointing about his comments is that Pederson didn't have the same kind of critique for the offense. He said players will perform better but never talked about him or offensive coordinator Press Taylor coaching the unit better. And that's the thing, the buck stops with the head coach.

The team's performance is a reflection of Pederson, fair or not, and if the offense didn't come through, that's on him. It's also worth noting that he's yet to reveal who's calling plays, so it's hard to pin the blame on the failed attempt to go for it on fourth-and-1 on the Jags' own 42-yard line.

The silver lining is that there's time to get things fixed, and the vibe surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars will change if they win in Week 2. For the time being, though, this looks like a team without an identity, and pinning the blame on the defensive coordinator doesn't help one bit.

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