‘This Is a Week-to-Week Business’: Following Up the Ravens Win Is the Jaguars’ Next Test
While the Jaugars win over the Baltimore Ravens was a huge statement over a heavily favored opponent, the team still sits at 4-7, and has plenty left to prove.
As a team, the Jaguars have vastly improved their offensive performance, thanks to the recent surge of franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who put on a 3 touchdown encore with no turnovers against a tough Ravens defense. Defensively, the Jaguars defense held Lamar Jackson to 16-32 passing, constantly forcing the uber athletic quarterback out of the pocket and making him use his legs.
As a team, the Jaguars registered 4 sacks, the second time they have done so in their last three games and consistently generating pressure.
A complete performance certainly deserves praise, but with six games left in the season it is important for the team to focus on the stretch ahead and parlay this success into the next week. For head coach Doug Pederson, following up on this game moving forward is critical to maintaining some much needed momentum.
“I think it’s big, this is a week-to-week business,” Pederson said. “Short=term memory, you come in on Monday, you watch it, you make the corrections, and you put it to rest as you’re onto the next.
"You got to erase what you did last week, remember, but I think at the same time, you got to move forward and approach this independently of last week. It’s another set of challenges for the team, you got to go on the road, you got to do it again, you’re going to be in a dome, it’s loud. This team has won here lately and they’re playing much better as well. It’s another good challenge for us.”
With the Titans loss at the hands of the Bengals, all of a sudden there is a chance for the Jaguars to make things interesting down the stretch. With two matchups against this Titans team in Weeks 14 and 18, and tough matchups against the Cowboys, and Jets, there is no room for error if the Jaguars want to capitalize on the opportunity that they have been given.
“Everybody in our division is chasing Tennessee,” Pederson said. “That’s a good football team. Coach Vrabel (Head Coach Mike Vrabel) has them playing well. Cincinnati, had a good game plan yesterday, beat them. It’s a good football team, but we know what’s ahead of us.
"We’ve got some really good teams on our schedule ahead of us are all playoff-caliber teams that, in order for us to be there at the end, we’ve just got to continue to prepare the way we’ve done that. This is the next one, Detroit this week. We’ll worry about Tennessee next week and move on from there, but it’s all part of that plan.”
Photo: Via Alex Shepherd
