JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
What do you think this business-like and methodical win say about the culture you are trying to build here?
“It’s something that we’ve started. It’s something that we’re still trying to continue to learn and grow from. Obviously, it was a unique situation, right, in a game that, yeah, sure, it may not have meant a whole lot, but I don’t know if I’ve been in a situation where you had a game like this heading into a game for everything. But, I’ll tell you, it’s a credit to the guys in the locker room, the coaches, just to stay focused. It was our mantra for the week was to stay locked in and stay focused and ready to go. You know, the guys, that’s what I told them after the locker room, the way they handled this week, very proud of them for that. It’s all part of our winning culture, you know. There’s a time and a place obviously to rest guys. I just didn’t think this was the time or the place to do that.”
How do you view one of the biggest games in Jaguars regular season history coming up, and do you feel like the guys will handle the pressure?
“This is what you play for. This is what you coach for, you know? This is what you want for your football team. You want to be in the conversation, and you want to be playing for — for us the AFC South, and we’re playing a good football team. Listen, we haven’t done anything yet. They’re still the champs until something happens. I felt like and really feel like our guys are in a good place. They’re in a good place mentally, physically. I don’t really have to worry too much about them getting excited for this one. It’s more about just locking in on your job and focusing in on your task this week starting tomorrow.”
Does it matter when you play the final game of the regular season?
“I would love to play Sunday, obviously, to have these next couple of days, but we’ll play when they ask us or tell us to play, and our guys will be ready to go. If I could pick, I would pick Sunday.”
How RB Travis Etienne Jr. play today, and what did you see on his big, 62-yard touchdown run?
“On that run I saw great blocking. Not only by the line but by Christian (Kirk) and Zay (Jones) I believe. They did an outstanding job today in the run game and gave him the ability to spring free and get in the end zone. But that’s what Travis (Etienne Jr.) can do. We can get him in space and on the perimeter or between the tackles some. You know, he is capable of doing that, and that was good to see. It’s been a while since we’ve got him going like that.”
How big was the first series getting ahead in this game and not having pressure on the scoreboard?
“It’s big. Defense did a great job. Turnover on downs and then the offense responding. We went a little tempo there to start the game and did a nice job getting in the end zone. That’s exactly how we wanted to start the football game. And it does. Any game is great when you can get the lead early, and then our guys did a nice job keeping it and doing some good things.”
Does it seem like there’s a marked difference between when this team gets a turnover and when they do not?
“Those are proven stats, right? Takeaways and giveaways, things like that. You know, any time you can be in the plus category, your chances of winning go up. It just means more possession for your offense. Defensively, we did a nice job today. Of course, we turned the ball over too, so we’ve got to look at that. Trevor (Lawrence) and C.J. (Beathard) both had picks today. We just have to take a look at that. But the defense, when you can score on defense too, you know, like they did, just helps the cause. I thought the defense did an outstanding job today really just holding them to the three points, but played well.”
Can you describe the season that WR Christian Kirk has had and what he has meant to the team?
“He has meant a lot. He is a veteran player who you guys know we targeted in free agency, and he has been nothing but a professional here in Jacksonville. He works extremely hard every single day out there, and there’s a reason why he has the numbers that he does, and it’s because of his work ethic. He has been great for the room and great for our team. I’m happy for him and his family for this milestone.”
Were there any injuries today?
“No, not really. We had a couple of bumps and bruises in the game. We were fortunate, and then in the third quarter we were able to pull some guys and get them out of the football game. Again, it’s just a credit to the players. But, no, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game where the tent — knock on wood. We don’t want it to go up much, but when it doesn’t go up, that’s a good thing.”
How do you think QB Trevor Lawrence played?
“Overall, he did some good things. You know, led the football team. Obviously the one pick, him and Zay (Jones) kind of missed on that, and it’s something we’ll take a look at and fix, but I thought he did some good things. He was high with some throws early, but settled in. I thought the run game was good, but overall — again, listen, it’s a tough week. I understand it from the standpoint of being mentally prepared and everything, just the way the nature of the game is. But I thought he really handled himself well and led the team well.”
How much does it help you game planning, execution-wise when you have a guy like TE Evan Engram?
“It’s good. It’s good for your offense, and it’s just another weapon that you can scheme for. I think he set a record himself I think today for tight ends and has just been a blessing to our team and a great leader. He is another one. He is a hard worker. I mean those guys Evan (Engram), Christian (Kirk), those guys are what you want and how you can build a team. But having a guy like Evan really gives you some flexibility on offense with your game planning.”
How does it feel to continue snapping negative streaks this season?
“Can’t keep count of them. Back-to-back road games and all kinds of stuff. It’s crazy. Just check them off. It’s great for the organization. It’s great for the team. Obviously, you set out each season and hopefully you win more than you lose, but this is a credit to the staff. It’s a credit to the players. Even (team owner) Mr. (Shad) Khan giving me the opportunity to coach this team and just the direction that we’re headed. We still have a game left, but, yeah, we’ve conquered a few firsts in a while. It’s a credit to those guys.”
How excited are you to see the home environment whether it’s Saturday or Sunday and see the support you’re going to get from the fans?
“You know, it should be electric. We’re playing for the AFC South, and we need all our fans that can get there to get there. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. Our guys will feed off of that energy, and it will be fun. It will be a fun one to coach and play in.”
QB TREVOR LAWRENCE
What does it mean to take care of business in a methodical way?
“It was a big win for us, obviously, with a lot of the distraction’s kind of around this week and knowing what’s in store now for next week. I thought we handled our business today. That was the plan to come in here, start fast, and control the game, and I thought we did that offensively. A lot of stuff to clean up. Didn’t play our cleanest ball today, but the defense played great, and special teams was awesome, so kind of made up for it. We had some huge plays on offense, so good enough to win. Obviously, it’s not our cleanest game we’ve had, but at this point of the year it’s just about winning. Obviously, we’re happy with that. To be able to win that way, it shows the growth of this team when you don’t necessarily play your best, especially offensively, you can still dominate a game like that. It’s cool to see our team continue to come together, and we all know what is at hand this week, so we’re excited for the challenge and ready to get back to work for that.”
How much does it help you personally having played in such huge games at Clemson getting ready for a game like this that’s for the AFC South title?
“I think guys have played in games like this, all different guys on our team. Different places maybe, maybe here years past, whatever it is. The biggest thing is you can’t treat it differently than any other game. You can’t try to do more or less. You just have to trust your process and what got us here. I think we’ve gotten in a pretty good groove of just the way we prepare, the way we get ready for these games. You see it’s been paying off for us the past month and a half, so we just have to trust that. You can’t try to do a bunch of new things just because you’re in a position where it’s a must-win to get in. For us it’s the same as any other game. That’s kind of been our mindset the past two months, so for us we just have to continue to do what we’ve been doing, prepare the same way, have a great week of prep, and put ourselves in position to win on Sunday or whenever the game is going to be.”
What did you see on RB Travis Etienne Jr.’s touchdown run?
“Just him running. No, actually Zay (Jones) had a great block. The safety filled the lane, and Zay got just enough of him, got his shoulder and kind of knocked him out of the hole. I mean, I don’t think Travis (Etienne Jr.) had to even cut. He broke that one tackle on the second level from the safety, and he was gone. We headed that play up pretty good, and Zay and Christian (Kirk) specifically did a really good job on the perimeter making that thing go.” Isn’t there a little part of you that goes, ‘this is our lives for the season’? How do you not let that creep in or become an issue?
“You look at the situation we put ourselves in. That’s kind of honestly the feeling every week for us is just –because if we didn’t win — what, today was four in a row. If we didn’t win these games, we wouldn’t be in a position to do this next week. For us that pressure or whatever you want to call it has been there, and we’ve responded great to it. And now that this moment, we talked a lot about a few weeks ago, this season is going to come down to Week 18. We knew we had to take care of business these prior weeks, but we had a feeling we’re going to put ourselves in position to where Week 18 is going to decide our playoff berth and where we head after that. We’ve been expecting this, and we’re ready for it. And I think, like I said, you know it’s a big game because, you’re right, it is for our season and to earn the right to keep playing, but it’s still a game. It’s still played the same way. It’s still the same length of time. All that stuff, it’s the same game. You can’t freak out and make it bigger than it is. You have to stick to what you know and your process.”
We ask you every week about snapping another streak for this franchise this year. How does breaking the nine- game losing streak to the Texans feel?
“Feels good. There’s a lot of guys in the locker room that have been a part of that. I’ve been a part of three of them. It feels good to get this one obviously. It’s hard to win in this league, so you appreciate all of them, especially a division game where you haven’t beat this team in a while. It feels really good, especially to do it at their place. This one is going to be short-lived for us. We know we have a big week in front of us. It feels great to get the win today.”
Knowing the kind of defense they are and the way they play, how big was getting a touchdown the first drive?
“Their defense has played really great all year. Just really disciplined, well-coached. They do what they do, and they do it well. They’re physical too. So, we knew starting fast would be big for us. It’s something that we weren’t able to do when we played them earlier in the season, so to be able to jump out of that lead early and then our defense just be able to pin their ears back and get after them really the whole game I think put us in a good position. Like I talked about, though, before just not playing our best on offense, we had a couple of opportunities to add on to that even earlier, and we stalled out and had some miscommunication, some stuff like that, early on that we need to clean up. Other than that, I thought the first drive of the third quarter was really good for all of us just to be clean, to go all the way down the field to score there and to finish kind of the right way. Obviously, a lot of the guys still played after that, but for me I wanted to really have a clean drive because I didn’t think we executed very clean in the first half for the majority of the time.”
How much pride do you take in WR Christian Kirk getting 1,000 yards receiving?
“It’s awesome. I told him after the game, or middle of the game when I realized. I was, like, ‘Shoot. Congrats, man.’
He has earned it. He has worked super hard, and obviously that’s a big part of our offense is 1,000 yards. It’s a lot of production from him. Just to see him have success and just the amount of work he has put in and the work that we’ve put in together and to see how it’s paid off and just the connection, the chemistry that we have, it’s been really cool. Just happy for him. So, keep building on it.”
