ORLANDO, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars entered December among the many groups competing to be the No. 1 seed within the AFC.
Six weeks later they had been out of the playoffs.
Head coach Doug Pederson mentioned he is by no means going to neglect the sting of that 1-5 stretch to finish the season. Not solely is it motivating him this offseason — and he is hoping the identical for his gamers — it additionally has been a significant factor in how the Jaguars form their offseason.
“I do not know if I am going to ever recover from it,” he mentioned Monday on the NFL house owners conferences. “I believe for me it will be my motivation, my gas shifting ahead and I am not going to let it cloud the imaginative and prescient, however on the identical time it will be shut in my thoughts as I transfer ahead with the staff this spring.”
The Jaguars received in Houston on Nov. 26 to enhance to 8-3. They had been tied with Miami and Kansas Metropolis for the second-best report within the AFC, a half-game behind Baltimore (9-3). With a sport towards a Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati and a fresh-off-the-couch Joe Flacco and Cleveland earlier than a house sport towards the Ravens, there was discuss within the metropolis of the playoffs probably having to run by Jacksonville.
Nonetheless, the Jaguars received just one extra sport (beating Carolina at house) and the season ended after a Week 18 loss in Tennessee in a sport the Jaguars wanted to win to make the postseason.
Pederson and common supervisor Trent Baalke have approached the offseason with a plan to make sure that the best way these six weeks unfolded — accidents to key offensive gamers (together with quarterback Trevor Lawrence) and defensive miscommunications, blown assignments and breakdowns — does not occur once more.
In order that they prioritized including gamers with important playoff expertise in addition to gamers with a monitor report of being good leaders, the latter being an essential addition to a locker room which will have gotten overconfident at occasions in 2023 after their success in 2022.
Six of the eight free brokers the Jaguars signed got here from groups that made deep playoff runs over the previous 4 seasons, together with two that performed within the AFC title sport (cornerback Ronald Darby and receiver/returner Devin Duvernay) and one which performed within the NFC title sport and Tremendous Bowl final season (defensive lineman Arik Armstead). Three — middle Mitch Morse, receiver Gabe Davis and Armstead — are additionally former staff captains and Armstead is a four-time Walter Payton Man of the 12 months nominee.
“I suppose now we’re going again to the hunter [in the AFC South] once more, proper?” Pederson mentioned. “However that is the tradition that I wish to set up in Jacksonville and that is the rationale why you go get guys like Mitch Morse and Arik Armstead and the Darnell Savages and guys which were to the postseason. These guys have been captains on their groups and so they’ve been to Tremendous Bowls, they have been to AFC Championship Video games, so these guys know the right way to win and that is sort of the inflow of expertise that we wish to deliver onto [our roster]. Guys who’ve been there, completed that.
“Once more, I’ve obtained to proceed to message the staff in the fitting means and there is obtained to be a type of confidence about you that whenever you take the sphere on sport day, there’s going to be video games you are going to get beat, I perceive that. However you have to have that confidence and that swagger that you will get the job completed on sport day. I believe bringing in a few of these free brokers we did this spring are going to assist that.”
Pederson admitted that his staff might have gotten too snug after its 8-3 begin and that damage the Jaguars in December and January. Linebacker Josh Allen’s remark after the Week 18 loss to the Titans — everybody was ready round for a spark to start out a surge and it by no means got here — appears to bear that out.
“I consider you’ll be able to positively get snug,” Pederson mentioned. “You possibly can sort of consider and browse into the hype that is surrounding your soccer staff. That is the one factor that may’t occur. You have to guard towards that clearly, and that is one thing that I believe our staff goes to comprehend shifting ahead.
“It is only a matter of staying optimistic and staying forward-focused, ahead pondering. You hate to dwell up to now however I believe you’ll be able to keep in mind the previous. I believe it is gas shifting ahead, it is sort of our motivation as we go.”
