Jaguars Postgame Transcripts
Head Coach Doug Pederson
On the win and what this means for the team moving forward
“You know, you take every win and every loss humbly, and that’s what we’ve got to do. It’s a great win
for our team. Yeah, puts us a few games up, and that was our goal this week, obviously. Our guys battled
for 60 minutes. We knew it was going to be a tough football game. It’s a really good football team here
in Houston that plays tough, plays hard and plays until the end. Our guys learned how to — we’re
learning how to finish, and really proud of our guys for the way they hung in there today.”
On what he saw from QB Trevor Lawrence and if he felt this could be an opportunity for him to pass
the ball a lot
“Quarterbacks feel comfortable when they’re getting protection, so my hats off to the offensive line.
When Cam [Robinson] went down we had to shuffle Walker [Little] out and Ezra [Cleveland] coming in,
and proud of those two guys for taking on that role, and they did a great job, and really the whole
offensive line did a great job keeping Trevor [Lawrence] clean and upright and to have the type of day
that Trevor did today — you know, he just seems to get better each week, and we’ll take a look at this
film and make the corrections and continue to improve.”
On how long he felt that kick was in the air for
“Yeah, obviously when he [Matt Ammendola] hit it, I wasn’t sure if it was going to make it or not. You
know, just glad it didn’t.”
On getting a win on the road in the division late in the season
“Exactly. We knew coming down here that this crowd was going to be energized for the way they’ve
been playing, and rightfully so. The way their quarterback has been playing, and again, rightfully so. We
knew that coming here. I felt like our guys really, for the most part, handled the noise really well, the
communication was good. It’s a tough place to play. This fan base is jazzed up like they were today, it’s
hard. It’s hard to hear. It’s loud on the field. But great road win for us to come here and do what we did
today.”
On the decision to go for it on first-and-goal from the 1 in the first half?
“Yeah, it was a real easy decision. I was going for it the whole way. You make a play like that and you’ve
got them back on the ropes, and if you can get the seven points there and get the ball to start the
second half, those should be favorable opportunities. I’ll just say this: Credit Houston. The guy [Desmond
King II] made a great play. Defensively he stopped Travis [Etienne Jr.] in the hole, and just a great
opportunity, great play by them, but I would do that again.”
On OLB and how much an impact his sacks had on the game
“The defensive line had to continue to fight through the whistle and same with the defensive backs. C.J.
[Stroud], he can extend plays. We saw it today, and his eyes are always down the field. He’s always
looking for the big play. For our D-line to run all over the field sometimes it felt like to make plays, it’s
just a credit to them and just the ‘no-quit mentality,’ and Josh [Allen] had a heck of a game today,
particularly here at the end.”
On how big WR Calvin Ridley was for the offense today
“Yeah, really just seems to get more comfortable with the offense, get more comfortable with Trevor.
We’ve been able to move him [Calvin Ridley] around a little bit more and try to create some space for
him, and he comes up big every week. Just something that I’m proud of him for the way he plays and his
toughness. There was a couple nice 3rd downs in there that we converted with him and really all the
guys. But it was another good performance by him today.”
On how LT Cam Robinson is
“I don’t know until we get back and we do a full write-up, mock-up on him [Cam Robinson] and exam. I’ll
probably let you know tomorrow.”
QB Trevor Lawrence
On the importance of this win and whether it sends a message
“I don’t know. I don’t know how other people will take it, but it doesn’t really matter. I think this was a
huge division game. You look at how well Houston has been playing, they were kind of nipping at our
heels in the division, so this was a big game. They win this game, we’re all square, and they beat us
twice, so they’re first place in the division, and we don’t really control our own destiny anymore. Of
course you do in other senses, Wild Card and all those things big picture, but for us to be able to
continue to control our own destiny, it’s up to us and how we play. We just keep winning, we don’t have
anything to worry about. We’re going to find ourselves in a good spot. I think in that sense, it’s a huge
game. Sending a message, I don’t know about that, but I think to take more control of this division and
take that next step and solidify ourselves, I think it’s a huge game, and we did a great job finding a way
to win.”
On if today’s game was an example of finishing games the way head coach Doug Pederson has
discussed and how the back-and-forth nature of the game felt
Yeah, that was a really good team, and we anticipated it being a four-quarter game going down to the
end. You never know how it’s going to go, and you hope you can take control earlier and make it a little
less stressful on yourself, but those type of games are important because that’s the way games get at
the end of the year. You’re going to get everyone’s best. Everyone is fighting, they’re scratching, they’re
clawing to try to win these games, to put themselves in position for the playoffs and postseason, all
those things. You’re going to get everyone’s best every week. Those are how games are, and you’ve got
to be able to win those games, even though it’s not pretty. Of course, I feel like we left a lot out there
and could have maybe taken control of the game earlier and put ourselves in a better position. But it
takes a lot of perseverance to go finish those games, especially when there’s some mistakes and some
things that happen. They made some huge plays throughout the game to really flip the momentum and
stay in the game and then give themselves a shot. For us to be able to go finish, our defense there,
getting those sacks, that was huge. It’s cool to see our defense be able to finish the game for us when
offensively we were moving the ball but kept kind of stalling out on the 50-, 40-yard line in their
territory. We’ve got to be better there and be able to close out the game. But it was cool to see our
defense play great.”
On the offensive line play after LT Cam Robinson’s injury
“They did a great job. Protection was awesome. I don’t think I got sacked. No sacks today. Those guys
are playing their tails off. Obviously, we had Ezra [Cleveland] jump in there and had to play the rest of
the game, and he did a great job. He’s going to help us, and it’s cool to see him be able to get up to
speed that fast. He just got here. They did a heck of a job obviously stepping in for Cam [Robinson].
Hopefully all is well with Cam. Definitely praying for him and hope it’s nothing major. But that guy brings
a lot of energy and worked hard to get back from injuries in the past, so you kind of hate it for him.
Hopefully it’s nothing major, but it’s cool to see those guys step up and be able to shuffle around and
still play well, and protection was awesome. Ran the ball great when we needed to. It was great.”
On how the Texans’ defensive stop at the end of the first half impacted the Jaguars’ momentum
“Yeah, I think so. Obviously, that’s a huge play for them. We went from — I’m trying to think how that
whole thing went down. I think they missed the kick, so they think they’re going to get three points, they
miss the kick, we get an opportunity, hit a couple plays, and we hit a big one to Christian [Kirk], almost
scores, and there’s still a second left. We took our shot and tried to score and get seven, especially
getting the ball out of halftime, so that’s potentially a 14-point swing that you can get if you score before
the half and then you get the ball and score again. I mean, that close. They made a great play on
defense. I think obviously you want to bet on yourself in that situation. You’re on the 1-yard line; let’s go
get seven instead of three. I liked the aggressiveness. We’ve just got to find a way to get in. That’s tough.
They made a great play. Got to give credit to them. Yeah, I think it’s a big opportunity for a big
momentum swing for us if we score that touchdown there.”
On the chemistry with WR Calvin Ridley today
“For sure, we’re getting better every week. It’s coming along with not just Calvin [Ridley] but the whole
offense. We’re getting better, we’re being more explosive, kind of moving the ball at will. We’re doing a
lot of great things. We’ve got to play cleaner; too many mistakes, too many dumb penalties, too many
missed opportunities still, even with all the things that we did well. I mean, it’s a lot easier, like I said, to
get better and coach off a win. It’s a lot more fun anyway. We know what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to
continue to get better. It’s a week-to-week business. We’ve got to bring the same juice next week and
play well.”
On if TE Evan Engram was where he expected him to be on second quarter interception
“Yeah, it’s a good question. I don’t want to get in trouble with anything I say. I think there was definitely
some contact there, but you’ve got to play the game. There are things that happen, and [Derek] Stingley
[Jr.] made a great play. He was actually covering Calvin [Ridley], and we got what we wanted, and then
No.5 [Jalen Pitre] I think maybe grabbed a little cloth there and held him up and they got the pick. They
made a great play. We’ve got to bounce back from those things, and we were able to, fortunately,
because that could have been a big momentum swing, and we were able to find a way to win the
game.”
On OLB Josh Allen’s play, particularly at the end of game, and it’s contribution to their win
“Just like I said, the defense, bearing down when we needed it. I told one of the defensive guys, I’ve
never seen a guy scramble that much in one game. [C.J. Stroud] just getting around, finding a way to
avoid rushers. Seemed like we had good rush the whole game, and he just kept finding lanes and kept
extending plays, and I’m sure as a [defensive back] that’s like the worst thing is when you’re covering for
five seconds because he’s extending plays and scrambling around. They did a great job offensively of
being able to do that and extend plays, but then our pass rush really stepped up at the end of the game
and got some huge sacks. You look at both those plays – he almost made it – but to keep them out of
field goal range and make that a 58-, 59-yarder, that’s huge. If you let them get some yards there and
they’re kicking a 50-yarder, that’s a big difference. That won us the game, and our defense really
stepped up when we needed them.”
On if he watched the Texans’ field goal attempt at the end of the game
“Yeah, I watched it. Stressful. When it came off his foot, I was like, ‘Oh, it looks short,’ because he kicked
it real high, and then it just kept going, and I’m like, ‘Ugh, I think he made it,’ and then it doinked off the
— it’s crazy how that happened. Just great job by our defense keeping them out of field goal range.”
On the prospect of a ‘rivalry’ between himself and QB C.J. Stroud
“I want the teams in our division to be as bad as possible, so that’s how I see it, and the way they’re
playing, it’s exciting, yes, there’s going to be some — I’m sure some great match-ups down the road, and
C.J. [Stroud] is playing lights out. He’s doing a great job. To be rookie and to play how he is, I’ve got a lot
of respect for him. I know how hard it is. I’ve been in that position. He’s doing a great job, and it’s going
to be fun for years to come hopefully. But no, I wouldn’t prefer that. I’d prefer if the guys in our division
didn’t have good quarterbacks. It would be better for us. But he’s doing a heck of a job, and he’s going to
keep getting better. He’s still obviously young and a rookie, and to be playing how he is now, it’s
impressive. It’s impressive to watch. It’s going to be fun.”
Houston Texans Transcripts
Sunday, November 26, 2023
Head Coach DeMeco Ryans
On the decision to kick a field goal instead of letting the offense have another shot
“Yeah, it felt like that was the right decision for us to kick the ball. It was close. It just didn’t go in. I
thought we had good range from there. Just didn’t make the kick.”
On how tough it was to not have any timeouts on the final drive
“It’s tough for us not having those timeouts, having to waste them on procedural things that we need to
clean up. We have to play better. All those timeouts were just self-inflicted things that we have to be
better at. Whether it’s making sure we got the right amount of people on the field, getting the calls in
quicker, getting to the line of scrimmage quicker, we just have to be better.”
On how explosive plays that were given up on defense effected the game
“The explosive plays, you can’t have them, right? You give up explosive plays, it equals points, and that’s
what happened. We gave up too many explosives on defense. They just beat us on a couple of plays.
Good plays by them. We didn’t execute the details of our job. When you don’t execute versus a really
good team, that’s what happens.”
On the biggest reason that the offense seemed off script
“Credit to Jacksonville for their defense. They mixed it up really well. Credit to those guys. They played
well up front. Coverages, they were tight, and we have to play better up front. We have to protect it
better. We have to run the ball better, and it all starts up front. We weren’t the best team up front
today on the offense or the defensive line. We weren’t the best team, and that’s the reason why we
didn’t win this game.”
On interchanging CB Tavierre Thomas and CB Desmond King II and what he saw from those two
“T.T.’ [Tavierre Thomas] was good. He was in good position on a lot of those things. We’ll take a look at
the film and see what it should have been.”
On if he is viewing this game as a missed opportunity
“Not a missed opportunity for us. Of course, we didn’t play our best, and as I told our guys, you don’t
play your best, you don’t execute versus a good team, this is what happens. There’s no need to hold our
head or sulk about anything. We have to do something about it when we’re out there on the field. We
have to execute. We have to play better. You play better, you’ll win the game. Today we didn’t deserve
to win because we didn’t play good enough.”
On stopping the Jaguars at the goal line just before the half
“That play, that stop at the end of the half, that was a really big play for us. Felt the energy from the
defense. Felt like that should get us some momentum, get moving there. Then we come back out the
second half, and we allowed them to convert on third down, and they just continued to drive. For us to
win this game, we knew we had to be better. We had to win third down, and of course, they were better
on third down than we were.”
On if he can share about anything about T Tytus Howard’s injury and what he thought of C/G Juice
Scruggs debut
“We’re still evaluating Tytus [Howard]. We’ll get more information on him as the week goes along. As for
Juice [Scruggs], I thought he stepped in and did a good job of being ready to go.”
On if the Jaguars did anything unexpected or if it just comes down to a lack of execution
“Just execution for us. Nothing that we didn’t expect. It was just execution, and that’s what it comes
down to. Tight, divisional game. We have to execute better, and that’s what it comes down to.
Encouraged by some of the things our guys did, but when you want to beat a really good team, a playoff
team, you have to be on your details, on your fundamentals for the entire game.”
On what Jacksonville was doing to create pressure on QB C.J. Stroud
“I thought they did a good job of mixing up the pressures, mixing up the Drop-8 in coverage. They did a
really good job of mixing it up. For us, just up front we have to protect it better.”
On what went into the decision to pass on third-and-one instead of running
“Yeah, I’ll have to look into that. At the end of the day, whenever we call a call, we feel like we’re going
to get the first-down. That’s why you call the call. Everybody can question the call and whatever it may
be – get the first down and nobody is questioning. But everybody is going to question your decision
making when it doesn’t go your way. That happens – that’s ball. You make calls and expect your
playmakers to step up and make plays.”
On QB C.J. Stroud and his ability to extend plays to allow receivers to get open downfield
“I thought C.J. [Stroud] did a really good job of being able to move around and extend plays. Made a
couple of big plays for us. One there with Tank [Dell] that got called back – unfortunate there. I thought
he moved around well when he had to, took what the defense gave him.”
On how he prevents this loss from spiraling and how he makes sure the team gets back on track?
“We don’t have to prevent anything. Guys just have to come to work, like I told them. Man, we were
close there for this game. It’s how you respond. It’s how you come back to work throughout the week.
There’s no magic that’s just going to happen. Nobody is going to show up and help. It’s just about our
guys stepping up and executing in the moment, and that’s the message to our guys.”
On the third and fourth down miscommunications with WR Nico Collins and if QB C.J. Stroud had
other options
“I’ll have to look at the plays and see what happened on those.”
QB C.J. Stroud
On missed opportunities to score in today’s game
“First and foremost, I give all the glory and praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was a great
Jacksonville team. We fought hard. To answer your question, you can’t put the last play of the game,
supposedly, or if it is or if it’s not, you can’t put the whole game on that situation. We’ve got to be
cleaner and execute better in the first half. I feel like we came out the second half and moved the ball
pretty well, but we have to play complementary football offense and defense. We have to help each
other out. It’s a great one to learn from, but, no, you don’t want to lose a close game like that. It’s tough
to put it all on the kicker’s hand and everything. I think Matt [Ammendola] has done a great job, and we
have to put him in better situations. Maybe get closer or even go try to score a touchdown and win the
game. A lot of different things that could happen and play out a different way.”
On the team’s continued confidence in him
“It’s amazing. That’s all you want as a quarterback and especially being a rookie. There’s a lot of veterans
on this team, and the way they look at me before we go out there or just any play at practice, they’re
always giving me the confidence. They show me that they really do trust in me, and I trust in them right
back. It’s definitely helpful and gives me a lot of confidence. So I appreciate those guys fighting for me,
and I’m fighting right for them.”
On how the Jaguars changed their plan from this season’s previous matchup
“They really didn’t do too much. They sent some pressure, but not as much as they did early on. They
got us a couple of times in some weird fronts with some pressure looks. I’ve got to be better with
throwing the ball high and things like that, but they really didn’t do much different. They’re a sound
team. They’re up front. Josh Allen and [Travon] Walker set the tone. They did a good job stopping the
run today. We’ve got to just be better at execution and fight and just be dogs out there. We had
glimpses of it. We had a lot of good things, but not good enough to win. So, got to go back to the
drawing board and find out what happened and go move on and play a tough Denver team and get a
win there.”
On how this loss affects the remainder of the season
“It’s a long season, man. I don’t think it hurts us like that. Of course, divisional [opponent], you want to
win the game. It hurts us pretty significant, man. It’s about the mindset, though. What are we going to
do? Not play anymore? We’re just going to tuck our tail and not play hard? No, I don’t really believe in
that type of mindset. I’m going out there every play, every game trying to win. So, I don’t really think
that our season is over at all. It’s a long year. We have six more games to play, seven more games to
play. There’s a lot more football left. You can see the trajectory we’re on. We’re taking strides, but we’ve
got to play complementary football and play for the offense. We have to help the defense. Defense has
to help the offense, and special teams have to do their job too. So, there’s a lot of things we can learn
from, but I think we’re at where we’re at. Sky is the limit still. There’s no confidence taken away in this
loss. We’re going to learn from it and get better and go get a W.”
On how he extends plays to create opportunities for long throws
“I try to do my best to keep my O-line honest, move in the pocket really well, and when it’s time to
scramble, try to go get some yards. I feel like I tried to do that as much as possible today. Got a couple of
good runs, but sometimes I don’t need to scramble. But, it’s tough towards the end especially, they were
dropping eight, rushing three, and they were really covering a lot of the zones, taking away some of the
short stuff and backing up, so we take away the deep stuff. What my job is, is to try to make a play, and I
feel like I did that as many times as I could. Credit to those guys. Jacksonville is great team. They have a
great defense from D-line all the way to DBs to the [line]backers. Communicate very well. At the end of
the day, we have to lick our chops, lick our wounds, and understand it is what it is. We’ve got to be
better. I’ve got to go out there and make some more plays on my end, but this isn’t the end. We’ll be
better.”
On the growth he’s seen in the team since the beginning of the season
“We’re brothers, man. It’s one of the things coming from Ohio State, that’s our motto is the
brotherhood. I didn’t know if it would be like that in the NFL, but honestly it is. It’s quite the same. Of
course, guys have kids and things like that, but really we’re hanging out a lot together. We’re always
together, of course, in the building. We actually hang out away from the building. Case [Keenum] and
Davis [Mills] in my room have been amazing to me. A lot of guidance, a lot of confidence-building, a lot
of honesty, and really just a lot of life skill-building from them being older than me, and helping me out
in certain situations on the field and off. So, this team is really close. That’s the thing about losing in this
league. I told them in the locker room. There’s only two things: You either win or you learn. We have the
mindset in there that we are going to learn from this and we’re going to be better.”
On taking a checkdown pass versus a long throw
“For sure. I think I’ve taken the steps all the way from OTAs to training camp. You get so excited, you get
the play call. Oh, dang, we got a shot. I’m going to do my best to make to make it work. If it’s not there,
just being smart. The worst thing you can do in this league is play behind the chains. So my job is to –
even if it’s not the best look against a certain play call – my job is to make Bobby [Slowik] always right,
make this team always right, and whoever has the ball in their hand, and most of the time it’s me, I’m
really feeding other people’s families. I can either lose them money or make them money. I just try to be
smart with that, but it’s a controlled aggression that I have. I feel like today I tried to do my best with
that. They took away really all our deep shots. I thought I did a good job of making plays and taking
checkdowns. And it’s playing the game honest, but we’ve got to be better on third down if we’re going
to live like that. So, a lot of things that we need to work on and things like that, but I’m enjoying the
process of the game, and I’m not going to be bored by taking the checkdowns and stuff.”
On if his increased scrambling and running today was part of the game plan or a situational response
because of the pressure
“Really all three. It’s a players’ league and I have to go out there and make plays. Sometimes when it’s
not there down the field, sometimes they get you. They’re in the NFL too. They get paid, and they cover
us up pretty well. It’s my job to extend the play. I think we did a good job of scrambling. Towards the
back end we were a little tired out there, so we weren’t really moving well. I feel like we can definitely
be better at scramble drills. We have to work on some things on that. But the off-schedule stuff isn’t
always coached. It’s kind of like just go out there play and make a play. Don’t make a bad play worse. Go
out there and just have fun. That’s how I think about it. I’m going out there with my guys, my brothers,
and we’re going to go play ball like we’re playing in the backyard when things don’t go as planned. Some
of it is planned, some of it’s not. I feel like we took strides in that area today, and that’s something you
see around the league from [Patrick] Mahomes to [Joe] Burrow to Josh Allen to really all over the
league. Those guys do well in scramble drill, and I think we took a step towards that today.”
On setting a new record for the most passing yards by a rookie quarterback 11 games into a season
“It’s a blessing, man. Honestly, for me everything always goes back to my faith and my family. They gave
me a lot of freedom to really hone in on my job, and this isn’t college. This is a job. Like I was talking to
[Tom] Brady on the podcast, he had a great word of advice for me. ‘This is your job. People are
depending on you.’ I’ve luckily had that blessing all my life since I’ve been young. I feel like it’s been a
blessing just to work hard every week. I wake up every day like, ‘Man, I’m in the NFL. This is a blessing.’ I
know we lost today, and I’m up here smiling because I am living my dream. It’s not always going to be
perfect. God never said it was going to be, but at the end of the day I know that he wouldn’t put nothing
on me that I can’t handle, or this team can’t handle. It’s been a blessing to come out here and work hard
and really see the city of Houston. Me and my mom got to give back for Thanksgiving. There’s hope in
this city. I’m not saying it’s just the Texans or anything like that. But that means something to these
people, and that’s what it’s really about. It’s not about me and breaking records. That stuff will come if it
comes, but it’s really about helping people and seeing the hope and inspiring people.”
