Following a Week 1 loss to the Washington Commanders, the Jacksonville Jaguars are heading into their next matchup with a chip on their shoulder. They blew a late lead on Sunday that doomed them to a 0-1 start to the season, which does not bode well for the team’s outlook in 2022.
One of the players who put the Jaguars within striking distance of a win against Washington was receiver Christian Kirk, who was one of the game’s top performers. He spoke to the media on Monday about the loss and remained bullish on the team’s chances of getting back to contention despite the outcome.
Prompted by a question about Pederson’s willingness to gamble in his play calls, Kirk made it clear that the team thrives on the trust being placed in them.
“He believes in us,” Kirk said. “He’s definitely one of the more aggressive play callers that I’ve experienced. Which is great because you know he’s not afraid to take that shot or go for it on fourth down or to be risky, which is good because when your coach has confidence in you to go do that, it puts a little bit more incentive for you to go and put it all out on the line. He’s definitely aggressive. We were joking after the game that it felt like a track meet because we’re running so many deep balls and motions and whatnot, but it’s great, I love it, and like I said, we’ll keep building off of it.”
Confidence in the coach’s decision-making is a crucial part aspect of the function of an NFL offense, and based on Kirk’s comments, it would seem Pederson is in sync with his players’ hopes for aggression to be a key part of their strategy moving forward. With 16 more games to hone their attack, Jacksonville’s new schemes should start to click well before the playoffs.
Now, the only remaining question is whether they’ll position themselves ahead of other teams in the AFC to get their chance to compete in the win-or-go-home games at the end of the season.
