HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023
(On how QB Trevor Lawrence is doing this week) “Great. No, Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] has looked
good. He’s had a couple of good days of preparation. He’ll get another one today with the red zone and
everything, but yeah, he’s done a nice job.”
(On if nerves are seen within the team this week) “I haven’t. I think the last month of our season has
kind of prepared us for this, because these were all must-win games, right? No bigger than last
weekend. Obviously, this is a little different. The atmosphere will be different. The pace will be a bit
different; the intensity will be a little different. It’s just the way it is in the postseason. I haven’t seen a
difference with the team, which is a good thing. We just got to focus on our jobs.”
(On level of difficulty from a coach’s perspective to see if a team is nervous) “Yeah, you can sense that
with guys. A lot of times, being loose and focused is really good, but loose to be loose can be a little
different. You want the guys to not be tight, right? You want them to play freed up and especially in
their minds and everything. Have fun with it, but at the same time, still enjoy the moment.”
(On if establishing the run game early is important in the upcoming game) “Yeah, we’ve struggled there
the last couple of weeks. Of course, we’ve played some really good run defenses and it’s rightfully so.
That’s something that we try to establish each weekend if we can, and this will be no different if we try
to do that. This is another good front we’re playing, obviously good against the pass. We’ve got to try.”
(On feelings of being in postseason play) “I’m excited. I’m excited for the team. Take me out of it and I’m
excited for the guys. They’ve worked really hard to put themselves in this position and where they’ve
come from just says a lot to the leadership of the group. I’m happy for them. It’s definitely a team effort,
it’s usually the head coach and the quarterback who get the praise and the blame. Hopefully we get the
praise.”
(On if there’s a sense of nobody being satisfied yet) “I do. Listen, these guys know there’s something
bigger out there, right? We’re all chasing that. The teams that are in the postseason are all chasing that
right now. Look, you got to stay within the context of the framework of the week and keep it locked in
and dialed into this week. A good Charger team is coming out here, but I haven’t seen anything with the
guys that would lead you to believe they’re looking past anything or they’re more excited this week than
last week or anything like that. They’ve been dialed in; they’ve had a couple of good days of preparation,
and we just got to keep that going.”
(On what has been done to turn this season around) “I’ll have time to probably reflect when the season
is over, in the past 11-12 months. For me, it was just about getting these guys to believe that they can
be a good football team. I had some experience in Philly with that, with a team coming off a 7-9 record
the year before. Getting them to believe that they’re a good football team and playing well, it’s kind of
the same thing. We just got to believe in each other, and it wasn’t going to be a quick fix. It’s just a
steady progression, and just getting better each week. Focus on your job, my job to help motivate that
and lead them down this path. Keep the team together when things didn’t look great. Let’s say the
month of October here. Once this year is over, I’m definitely going to look back and reflect and see
exactly what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
(On if believing in each other is somewhat fixed) “Well, I’ll say this. We’re heading in the right direction.
Ultimately, until you can win that final game, nothing is really fixed. You’re still a work in progress, right?
You’re still learning and you’re still growing. That’s where we’re at. We’re still trying to get better as a
football team together and we still have some challenges ahead.”
(On if he embraces the ‘It Was Always the Jags’ slogan) “Yeah, it goes back to what we talked about way
back in September and October. We talk about how it was always about us, it’s about what we do. It’s
the same thing, it’s about us, it’s about the Jags, whatever it might be. You got to embrace that, and
you’ve got to focus. You’ve got to internalize that, and what does that mean for you individually? Then,
you’ve got to be able to take that to the practice field and ultimately to the game field. I’d say the
Chargers are saying the same thing, it’s about them. The Bengals are saying the same thing and
Baltimore is saying the same thing. It’s about us and everybody is just trying to win a game.”
(On if he’s surprised the Jags slogan has caught so much attention) “It’s better than ‘It’s Always About
Us’ I guess.”
(On similarities between his time in Philadelphia to this team) “Yeah, I can, and lean on some of the
experiences we had back then as a football team. I’ll tell you this, when we had that stretch in October
this year, I’ve had similar stretches. Whether it be in Philly or as the OC in Kansas City. We’ve had
stretches like that and how our teams were able to overcome it and things like that. Put ourselves in a
position; I was in Philly where we had to win the end of season and had to win our games in order to
make the postseason. We were able to do that against division opponents. I can be able to share some
of those experiences with the guys and look, it ultimately comes down to each man just owning his job,
doing his job, going out, and playing hard every single week. You can’t turn the ball over; you’ve got to
protect it. You got to take it away if you can. Then, try to find a way to win.”
(On if there’s a moment during the losing stretch of October that was a turning point) “Yeah, for me it
was that those games were close games. There were one-score games there. Just still putting it out in
front of the team, like hey, you’re a good football team. We just have to eliminate x, y, and z, and if we
do that, we can win these games. We can finish. We need to finish better. All those games, really, have
kind of given us the opportunity to where we’re at now. We’ve learned from that. We’ve been able to
finish. We’ve been able to learn from those mistakes. Just continue to play and figure out a way to win.”
(On thoughts during the flight back from London) “Long. Besides that, it was disappointing because we
felt like that was another opportunity that we had let slip. It was a close football game and we started
out well and just disappointed coming back from that. The nice thing was that we got right back on the
field, I think we had the Raiders come in here the next week. Really had a chance to correct some of the
mistakes we made.”
(On the importance of self-belief from the players) “You got to have that and have that self-confidence.
You got to be able to believe that you got it done. A group of men coming together, working hard,
practicing, all that. You go back to those hot summer days in training camp and the earlier part of
September when it’s hot here and you’re playing and practicing out in the heat, the whole thing. You got
to have some of that confidence and then that spills over. Towards the end of the year here, you start
winning a few games that just kind of spills over. It gives you a little momentum and it’s exciting for the
players to go through that and experience it.”
(On if he’s a superstitious person) “No, I’m the same. If that’s superstition, I try to keep it the same.
Routine the same. I think it’s everything, keeping the routine the same. This is what the guys are familiar
with, whether it be the schedule or the way we travel or whatever it might be. I’m not a big guy to
change just to change. If we’re going to do it, there’s going to be a good reason.”
(On the importance of QB Trevor Lawrence remaining healthy the entire season) “I couldn’t have said
that during the Detroit game. We thought that at the time, it might be more significant than it was. We
could’ve been doing the same thing. We were very fortunate there, very blessed. These teams that are
playing other than a couple right now in the postseason, the quarterbacks are intact and playing.
They’re playing at a high level, and that’s what you’ve got to have. You’ve got to be playing really good
football. We’re playing one this weekend that’s playing really good right now. That’s a challenge for our
defense.”
(On talent of Chargers WR Keenan Allen and Chargers WR Mike Williams) “It’s a lot of their offense right
there in the passing game. These are veteran players, explosive guys, big targets. Justin [Chargers QB
Justin Herbert] is healthy, we caught him maybe a little banged up back in Week 3. It’s a challenge; it’s a
challenge. They can get real dangerous in a hurry and it’s understanding our coverage technique,
understanding the scheme, being in the right spots, all those kinds of things. Putting pressure on the
quarterback; those are all things that you’ve to do to try to at least slow down a passing attack like this.”
