From Taylor Sims (@TaylorSims14):
Taylor, this is a tough one to answer. Going into Week 5, I thought that if anyone was worth watching, it was Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, based on the fact that the Jaguars were 1–9 in their previous 10 games. Plus, Pederson’s tone when speaking to the public seemed to shift.
The Jaguars’ win last week does serve to take some heat off Pederson. But that doesn’t make their next two games in London, where owner Shad Khan has invested a lot of money, less important. On Tuesday, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson lamented his team’s performance, calling the roster one of the best in franchise history. Khan has said similar things about the current Jaguars roster, which puts the onus on coaches to win with their existing talent.
After an exciting division win over the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville faces a pair of games in England against rookie quarterbacks that should be winnable, if the team is as good as Khan thinks. The first matchup is against the Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams, and the second is against the New England Patriots and Drake Maye. So, if the Jaguars return to Jacksonville at 1–6, discussion around Pederson could ramp up. I don’t expect that, though, based on how they just played.
