Doug Pederson has received praise for turning the Jacksonville Jaguars around this season.
On Saturday night he proved in a huge way how valuable he is as head coach as his team came back from a 27-0 defeat in the knockout stages. to win 31-30.
The Jaguars lost 27-0 in their AFC Wild Card Playoff against the Los Angeles Chargers at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
Trevor Lawrence showed youth and was tackled four times in the first half. But he rallied with a touchdown pass before halftime to help bring positive energy to his team in the second half.
Pederson remained steadfast through it all, undaunted and encouraging his team to keep taking the lead. Jags did just that.
Pederson’s calm approach not only helped Jags maintain his composure, but also made some great calls.
When his team fell 27-0 in the second half and faced fourth and second at the age of 36, Pederson bet.
He could have panicked and rushed for it, which would have left his team in an intolerable position if they hadn’t converted.
Instead, he realized that they could still come back 27-0 even after playing the game. He knew he didn’t need to gamble there, and his calculations proved correct.
Then, in the fourth quarter, Pederson made a few other great calls.
After the Jaguars scored with a touchdown pass from Lawrence to Christian Kirk with 5:25 left to make it 30-26, Pederson made a clever penalty, choosing to take a shot.
Instead of scoring an extra point to set up a tie with the potential for a draw and extra time, Pederson accepted a penalty against Joey Bosa, which shifted the effort to convert a potential 2-point to the one-yard line.
He knows that from one, Lawrence can easily get the ball over the line to score. It was a great decision to make it, and a great play call to match made it 30-28.
Then, when Jags was 4 and 1 at Chargers 41 with 1:28 left, Pederson didn’t like the way his offense looked and called a timeout. Not only was the timeout clever, but then Pederson called another playthrough that worked perfectly.
Jags has three defenders at the back, which looks like they will use them to help push Lawrence in a midfield sneak attack. Instead, they served the ball to Travis Etienne, who went outside to score the winning goal.
Watching this game is a great reminder why the Eagles won the Super Bowl. It also makes you wonder why nobody else hired Pederson sooner.
