Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson joined NBC Sports’ Mike Florio and Chris Simms to explain what mentality he came into Jacksonville with, how the Jags overcame a tough stretch, Trevor Lawrence’s development and more.
Pederson credited Lawrence in the Jaguars’ turning point.
After throwing for only 10 touchdowns with six interceptions over the first eight games of the 2022 regular season, the former Clemson quarterback and 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick passed for 15 touchdowns with only two picks over the final nine games of the regular season.
Lawrence threw two interceptions in a loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 30, which dropped the Jaguars to 2-6 after five straight losses.
With Lawrence leading the turnaround after that game, the Jags went 7-2 over the rest of the regular season, ultimately winning the AFC South title and making the playoffs, where they overcame a 27-0 deficit in the wild card round to beat the Los Angeles Chargers before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.
“After that (Denver) game, he and I had a conversation, and I wanted him to understand that he’s our guy and we have full confidence in him – go out there and be you, cut it loose, have fun, don’t hold back,” Pederson said. “I empowered even more and loved on him more and just said, ‘Dude, you’re our guy, and I don’t want you to look over your shoulder. Go cut it loose,’ and we just kept working with him. (Quarterbacks coach) Mike McCoy did a great job sort of mentoring him as well in that room, and just the influences he had around him I think gave him confidence and gave him more confidence and stability in his own performance, and he really took off in the second half.
“And you saw a difference from I think the first Chiefs game we played them, to the divisional round, you saw a more confident team. Or the first Chargers game to the second Chargers game where he throws four bad picks and you’re down 27-0, 27-7 at halftime, and he goes on a streak there in the second half.”
You can check out Pederson’s full interview with Florio and Simms below:
–Photo for this article courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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