By Hays Carlyon
I’ve covered the Jaguars since 2013 and they all would’ve punted.
Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone and, gulp, Urban Meyer.
They all would’ve punted.
Not Doug Pederson.
The first-year Jaguars coach went for it on fourth-and-1 at midfield in the third quarter of Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Chargers. He held a 16-10 lead with the Chargers just having kicked a field goal to open the third quarter.
Pederson’s guts paid off. Running back James Robinson took a handoff from quarterback Trevor Lawrence, cut left and was off for a 50-yard touchdown. The Jaguars took a 23-10 lead.
They never looked back.
The Jaguars snapped an 18-game road losing streak in the process, routing the Chargers 38-10. This was the perfect follow up to last week’s 24-0 trouncing of Indianapolis.
The Jaguars remain atop the AFC South at 2-1.
Your eyes and the scoreboard tell you Pederson is the real deal. His Super Bowl triumph in Philadelphia obviously does as well, but we needed to see signs here.
Oh, we’re seeing them.
Let me take you through the ample evidence that Pederson has the Jaguars on the verge of a potentially special season.
The Jaguars are plus-46 in point differential. That’s second in the NFL behind Buffalo (plus-53) heading into the Sunday night game.
The Jaguars are controlling the line of scrimmage and the ball. They are outrushing opponents 370-165. That dominance has allowed an astounding advantage in time of possession. The Jaguars have the ball on average for 34:35 of the game to just 25:25 for the opponent.
Look at what Pederson is doing for Lawrence. The second-year veteran has shaken off a forgettable first game with two sensational efforts. Lawrence completed 28 of 39 passes against the Chargers for 262 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers for a 115.5 passer rating.
Lawrence’s passer rating this season is 103.1. That’s fifth in the NFL behind Lamar Jackson, Tua Tagovailoa, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. That’s good company.
Pederson placed his faith in first-time defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and is being rewarded. Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke orchestrated a bevy of offseason acquisitions to help that side of the ball and all of them are paying off.
The Jaguars have 11 players that have either a sack, an interception or a fumble recovery in three games.
The hype for Sunday’s game at undefeated Philadelphia will be unreal.
Enjoy it, Jaguars fans.
Your team will be one of the biggest talking points around the nation this week.
There are many reasons why the Jaguars are greatly improved. However, that list starts with Pederson.
He truly has brought an urban renewal to the city of Jacksonville.
(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @HaysCarlyon).
