Taking Advantage of the Opportunity | The Jaguars will compete for the AFC South title in Nashville in Week 18.
JACKSONVILLE — The chance is here, and make no mistake about it:
Regardless of how the Jaguars arrived at Week 18 of the 2023 NFL season, they enter the last week of the regular season with a unique chance.
“We embrace it,” stated Head Coach Doug Pederson on Monday.
With good reason.
The AFC South-leading Jaguars (9-7) will face the Tennessee Titans (5-11) in Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday at 1 p.m., after snapping a four-game losing streak with a 26-0 victory over the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium on Sunday. If the Jaguars win, it will be their second consecutive AFC South championship.
If they lose, they will not be able to win the South, but they might still enter the playoffs as a wild card if the Baltimore Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday and the Denver Broncos lose to the Las Vegas Raiders at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday.
“We’re just fortunate and blessed to be in this position at the end of the year,” he said. “Being in the conversation and playing in these important games this late in the season has always been our goal.”
“We could have done better in a few recent games here and we wouldn’t be in this situation, but we are.” We own it, and we’re excited about the opportunity on Sunday.”
Following an 8-3 start, the Jaguars dropped four straight games to teams.500-plus points: 34-31 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, 31-27 loss to the Cleveland Browns, 26-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and 30-12 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bengals were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday, with the Browns and Ravens already clinching spots and the Buccaneers needing a win in Week 18 to win the NFC North.
The Jaguars did not commit a turnover and reduced the Panthers to 57 yards running after committing 10 turnovers and allowed 139.8 yards per game over the four-game streak.
“It can give a team a lot of confidence; it’s what we needed,” he remarked. “We needed something to go our way, and it did. It wasn’t a pretty win, but I don’t believe there is such a thing as a pretty or ugly win or loss. I’m proud of the boys for getting the win and doing it the right way. It can undoubtedly energize your team at this moment.”
In addition, the Jaguars rushed for 155 yards versus Carolina after averaging 60 yards per game over the previous four games.
“Football is not a hard or complicated game,” Pederson stated on Monday. “As coaches and players, we can sometimes overcomplicate things. If you just focus on the basics – if you don’t turn the ball over, don’t have many penalties or pre-snap penalties on offense, make open field tackles, you’re in the correct position, control the line of scrimmage on both sides, and run the ball effectively enough to dominate the game…
“Those are winning formulas for any football team.” Obviously, for ours and where we are, you can win games in this league that manner. There are games where you’ll have to put the ball in the air 35 times or so to win since there are teams that can score every time they touch the football.
“It’s proof to our players if we take care of our business, then you have a chance to win games.”
NOTABLE
Tyler Shatley began at left guard on Sunday, with Pederson stating that the move was made to give left tackle Walker Little and left guard Ezra Cleveland “some rest” after both had been out with injuries in recent weeks. Little has started seven games at left tackle and four games at left guard this season despite a hamstring issue. Cleveland has started three games at left guard and one at left tackle despite a knee injury.”Walker and Ezra were a little banged up,” Pederson admitted. “When Tyler is in there, he does an excellent job. We didn’t experience any type of let down, let up, let off, or whatever you want to call it. We were in a fantastic mood. It was beneficial to our team. We got through Sunday; now we can prepare for this week, and we’ll see if it’s Ezra back there, Walker back there, or Tyler back there. At the moment, the guys’ health is the most important worry.”
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