Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan shared his expectations for the team a few days before the start of the season.
“Make no mistake about it, this is the best team the Jacksonville Jaguars have ever assembled,” Khan said.
Not too long ago, it would have looked like this was the best Jaguars team ever assembled and in the great hands of head coach Doug Pederson.
When the Philadelphia Eagles won the only Super Bowl in franchise history in 2017, a truth seemed to emerge about Pederson. He revolutionized the game by being more aggressive on fourth down than any coach before him (and that still holds true today). He was the quarterback whisperer who led Carson Wentz to MVP, then Nick Foles to the epic Super Bowl MVP. He was also one of the top five, at worst, top five coaches in the NFL. He beat Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl. It happened. And he ended up coaching the Eagles for a long time. It was Pederson’s second season as head coach.
On Sunday, the Detroit Lions defeated the best team the Jaguars have ever assembled, 52-6, the worst loss in Jaguars history, but those days when Pederson was a coaching star seem like a long time ago. It was like. With this loss, the Jaguars fall to 2-9 and may end Pederson’s time with the Jaguars.
On Saturday, someone leaked to the NFL media that the Jaguars’ bye week is approaching and big changes could be made, including firing Pederson. This is a secret way to know that keeping the job may depend on winning in Detroit, but at least Pederson knew the stakes. And like everything else since winning the Super Bowl with the Eagles, Pederson has fallen short. The Lions led 28-3 late in the second quarter. Jared Goff gained 412 yards with four touchdowns and posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3. There have been plenty of embarrassing days for the Jaguars this season, but Sunday marked a new low. If the season ended today, the Jaguars would have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They also look like the team that should be drafted No. 1 overall.
“You can’t control it,” Pederson said after the game, via NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. If it happens, it obviously will happen. But at the same time, I have a job to do. ”
What happened to Pederson? The easiest way to explain it is that he had a great season thanks to a very good Eagles roster and coaching staff around him. Philadelphia went 13-3 that season. Pederson has since gone 42-50-1 with two playoff wins in six seasons.
The longer answer may have to do with his relationship with his players, especially his quarterback, since the magical 2017 season. The deterioration in the relationship between Pederson and Wentz was the main reason the Eagles’ relationship ended so soon after the Super Bowl. The relationship between Pederson and Trevor Lawrence will be analyzed in detail, but it’s clear that at the very least Pederson wasn’t getting the most out of a quarterback who makes $55 million a season. Pederson at times seemed to blame his players this season, even as he did his best to protect embattled offensive coordinator Press Taylor. Blind loyalty to his staff was another reason he was ousted in Philadelphia and why he failed in Jacksonville. The team’s scheme on both sides of the ball looked stale. Lawrence didn’t play in Sunday’s game with an injury, but Mac Jones isn’t getting any glory starting in Lawrence’s place. But there wasn’t much creativity to help him. And the Jaguars’ defense allowed Detroit a ton of runs.
In February 2018, it seemed inconceivable that Pederson might lose his chance as an NFL head coach just over six years later. He was similar to Sean McVay and John Harbaugh, championship coaches who would go on to have long careers in the NFL. And then, just when it seemed like he quickly figured out the NFL in Philadelphia, suddenly the game was passing him by.
Here are the remaining winners and losers for Week 11 of the NFL season.
winner
Every NFL prospect outside of Kansas City: Everyone knew the Chiefs were going to win. We’ve seen them run away many times already this season. But until they actually lost, it seemed like they probably wouldn’t open the door to anyone else.
The Chiefs finally lost. The Bills had a 26-yard touchdown run by Josh Allen on fourth down just before the two-minute warning, and Buffalo held on for a crucial 30-21 victory.
With this win, Buffalo (9-2) has a chance to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They are only one loss behind the 9-1 Chiefs, who will have a head-to-head tiebreaker. It took until mid-November for Kansas City to lose. Now all the other Super Bowl contenders have at least a little idea of their weaknesses.
Anthony Richardson: But the Indianapolis Colts were able to get what they did Sunday with Richardson, so you had to be excited about the outcome.
Two games after an awkward benching, the Colts selected Richardson after Joe Flacco struggled. And Richardson played his best game of the season, and perhaps his best game as a pro, completing 20 of 30 passes for 272 yards, one touchdown, two rushing touchdowns and a late leadoff. He led the drive to beat the New York Jets 28-27. .
Flacco played so poorly that Richardson’s inclusion on the bench was criticized and looked bad. If it helps Richardson stay focused and play like he did Sunday, it’ll be worth it.
Sam Darnold: It’s easy for Darnold. If he doesn’t turn the ball over, he could be a competent quarterback.
Good Darnold showed up on Sunday. After six comebacks over the past two weeks, Darnold returned to form against the Tennessee Titans. Darnold played an efficient game with no interceptions in a 23-13 win over the Titans. Darnold lost a fumble, but it didn’t cost him what would have been a tough loss for the Vikings against a fearsome team in the Titans (2-8).
The Vikings (8-2) will have a hard time beating the Lions (9-1) in the NFC North, but they still look like a wild card team. Darnold will need to continue playing like he did Sunday to make the playoffs.
Matthew Stafford: Stafford hasn’t had his best season. He was inconsistent. Last week, he didn’t play well in the loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Stafford had a good day Sunday. He completed four touchdown passes and the Rams beat the New England Patriots 28-22, keeping their playoff hopes alive for at least another week. Stafford’s touchdowns included two to Cooper Kupp, one of which went for 69 yards.
It hasn’t been an easy season for the Rams, and the loss to the Dolphins was a huge setback for their postseason chances. But there is hope for the Rams if Stafford continues to put together a strong record.
Darren Rizzi: Last season, Antonio Pierce got the chance to become the interim head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He won several games, captivated fans with his energy, and was hired as the team’s permanent head coach. That’s every interim coach’s dream scenario.
Rizzi, the interim coach of the New Orleans Saints, is 2-0 and should be feeling pretty good. On Sunday, the Saints had a great performance, defeating the Cleveland Browns 35-14, led by Taysom Hill scoring three touchdowns. Rizzi’s energy has already garnered positive attention for his energy on the sideline during games. We’ll have to wait and see how the Saints (4-7) do after the season, but if Rizzi wins enough games he could at least get some consideration. That’s all the interim coach will be asked.
loser
Antonio Pierce: Speaking of Pierce, his tenure as the Raiders’ permanent coach hasn’t gone all that well.
The Raiders seem overmatched almost every week, and that was the case in their 34-19 loss to the Miami Dolphins. We lost, resulting in 2 wins and 8 losses. Part of that is that the Raiders have far below average quarterback ability no matter who they play. That doesn’t explain everything. Las Vegas had some tough competition last season when Pierce was interim coach after taking over from head coach Josh McDaniels. I don’t think this team will be able to compete at that level this season. It’s not like the Raiders have a long-term commitment to Pierce.
San Francisco 49ers: We may never see the version of the 49ers we all expected this season.
The 49ers are a .500 team after 10 games. On Sunday, they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but they were unable to close out the game down the stretch, allowing Seattle to put together a long drive in the final two minutes. Geno Smith scored on a touchdown run with 12 seconds left, giving the Seahawks an important 20-17 victory over a division rival they had dominated in recent years.
The 49ers have some injuries, like tight end George Kittle on Sunday, but every team in the NFL has injury issues. The 49ers may be mediocre this season. If that happens, last season’s NFC champions could be out of the playoffs.
Atlanta Falcons: Can I mark the Falcons as a loser in Saturday’s first Wild Card game?
The Falcons are good enough to win the NFC South and that’s it. On Sunday, they were soundly defeated by the Denver Broncos, losing 38-6. Bo Nix, the Broncos’ rookie quarterback, continued his steady improvement as he led the Falcons. Nix completed 28 of 33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns, tying the Broncos’ rookie record. Atlanta had no intention of stopping the Broncos, and the Falcons’ offense was punchless.
The Falcons appear likely to overtake the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC South title. But the Falcons have shown they have no fear of making a fuss once the playoffs begin.
Lamar Jackson’s MVP case: Jackson has been incredible this season. However, quarterbacks from teams that don’t win their division don’t often receive MVP votes.
The Pittsburgh Steelers got a big win in the AFC North on Sunday. Their defense did a great job of containing Jackson, and their offense produced enough field goals to win 18-16. The Ravens scored a Jackson-Jay Flowers touchdown with 1:06 left, but Jackson was stopped attempting a run to the left on the two-point conversion and the Steelers held on.
The Steelers are 8-2 and the Ravens are 7-4. Baltimore still has plenty of time to fight back and win the district. Jackson’s hopes of winning a third MVP award may depend on it.
Matt Eberflus: Sunday was the kind of win that gives Eberflus hope that he will remain the head coach in Chicago.
Just like last week when the Denver Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs as time expired due to a blocked field goal, the Bears also lost when their 46-yard field goal attempt was blocked on the final play. The Bears played well in their first game after firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, but lost 20-19, their 11th straight loss to the Packers. The Bears and Everflus could have really used a win against their rival.
One of the turning points of the game came in the fourth quarter. With less than five minutes left in the 49th inning and the Packers on fourth out and on third base, Chicago delayed the game and had to punt. If he had aimed for that, he might have been able to end the match. This decision allowed the Packers to take the lead, and the key play was a long catch by Christian Watson that appeared to hit the ground as he took the glove. The Bears drove into field goal range, but never attempted to get any closer than their 46-yard attempt, and time expired before trying on the final play. That was also an unfortunate decision.
Eberflus has made a number of questionable decisions in recent weeks. His performance on Sunday will also be closely watched.
