The Jacksonville Jaguars were blown out in the first of their two games in London this season, falling to the Chicago Bears 35-16 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
It was a deflating defeat for a Jacksonville team that entered England with improved energy, after curbing their four-game losing streak to begin the season by beating the Indianapolis Colts at home a week ago.
Find everything Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said following the loss below.
On if Pederson feels like the Jaguars have not figured out how to overcome adversity:
DOUG PEDERSON: “Yes, to your point. That’s kind of the obvious, right? Right now those are things that are plaguing us. It’s the mistakes and then being able to overcome the mistake. Those are things that we have to obviously take a look at and correct.”
On how Pederson felt like QB Trevor Lawrence played today:
DOUG PEDERSON: “He played tough. I mean, he’s just one man obviously, and we’ve got to play better all-around, everybody, and he included. He knows that. There’s ownership in that. Coaches, the same way. I take full responsibility obviously, but we all need to be better.”
On if Pederson feels like Jacksonville’s changed practice schedule impacted the team’s preparedness:
DOUG PEDERSON: “I don’t. I don’t.”
On how Pederson feels after the 1-5 start:
DOUG PEDERSON: “Defeated, obviously. I feel for the players and the coaches. We work extremely too hard to be in this position. I feel like the guys, they don’t quit. They keep fighting. We have to figure out how to just get out of our way and just play football. I say that, and it sounds easy, but it’s tough. It’s a tough game to play. We didn’t expect to be here in this spot, and, hey, now we have to find a way to get out of it.”
On if Pederson thinks next week is a must-win against New England at Wembley Stadium:
DOUG PEDERSON: “I would say so. I would say everything here on out, quite frankly. If we want to get back to playing the type of football we know we can play, you’re going to have to win a lot of games moving forward. I would say that, yeah, these games moving forward are just that.”
On if Pederson believes he still has the full backing of Jaguars head coach Shad Khan:
DOUG PEDERSON: “I do. I was just with him, and I do.”
On what Pederson thinks is the first point he would change to fix the Jaguars’ start to the season:
DOUG PEDERSON: “It’s hard to put a thumb on it or a finger on it 30 minutes after a game. It’s something I’ll have to consider and really dive into I think these next couple of days before we get back on the field, but your point is taken.”
On how important it is that the Jaguars will remain in London this week to prepare:
DOUG PEDERSON: “I think it’s huge for us to be here as a football team, to be around each other, support each other, keep encouraging each other. There’s nowhere for us to go, you know? We’re at the hotel, and we see each other every day. We have to support each other and keep picking each other up.”
On the penalties in crucial moments that were detrimental to the Jaguars vs. the Bears and what the team can do to ensure that that stops moving forward:
DOUG PEDERSON: “Yeah, those are penalties that really hurt. Again, taking nothing away from the players. They’re playing hard. They’re putting everything out on the field. We keep talking. We’ll just keep showing them. We had the 12 men on the field, and there was a substitution change. I put that one on us as coaches. That’s on us. So, everybody has a piece of this. It’s not just coaching, not just players. It’s all of us, and that’s where it has to start.”
On RB Travis Etienne’s injury:
DOUG PEDERSON: “I haven’t talked to our trainers yet, so I don’t have any updates on medical yet.”
On what positives he can take away from the loss:
DOUG PEDERSON: “Great question. Yeah, I’ll say this. You know, we’ve talked a lot as a team. I know it’s a small thing, but we haven’t really started football games well this year. We’ve given up points, and we’ve been off the field. Obviously today was a positive, right? We got them off the field early, and then offense went down and put points on. I mean, we dropped a touchdown, but we still put points on the board. I think that’s a step in the right direction. Look, I could probably give you a better answer in a day or two when I look at this tape, but that’s a start.”
