The Jaguars finished the preseason undefeated for a second consecutive year, completing the 2024 trifecta against the Falcons on Friday night, 31-0.
It was a win of dominant fashion for the Jaguars, but one that needs context relative to preseason coaching philosophy: Jacksonville played its offensive starters for two drives and defensive first-teamers for four series; Atlanta kept its starters and most backups on the bench for the second-straight week.
Jaguars starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and tight end Evan Engram connected for scores on back-to-back drives to open the game, with Lawrence completing 8-of-10 passes for 92 yards and Engram catching four for 27 in that stretch.
Rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. also produced a big catch-and-run on a pass from Lawrence for a 38-yard gain.
Jacksonville’s defense held Atlanta scoreless on the night with the Falcons punting on all but four of their drives.
Three of those series ended in turnovers on downs; one was a one-play kneel-down by quarterback Taylor Heinicke to end the first half. Two Atlanta drives ended in Jacksonville territory.
Jaguars edge rusher Travon Walker wreaked early havoc on Heinicke, recording a sack and batting up a pass that almost ended up in the breadbasket of rookie Jacksonville defensive lineman Jordan Jefferson.
Walker was one of six Jaguars to defend a pass, alongside defensive linemen Trevis Gipson and Roy Robertson-Harris, cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Montaric Brown and safety Darnell Savage Jr.
“Proud of everyone and the way they competed tonight,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said following the win, before describing how he weighed the performance considering the level of competition.
“I don’t look at it as far as, like, us versus them that way. I look at it as just us, right? Our execution. Are we executing? Are we targeted the right way? Especially on the offensive line. Are we fitting gaps in the defense? Are we in the right coverage leverage? Things of that — we’re still working on things.
“At the end of the day when the ball is snapped, yeah, there is a man over you and you’ve got to do your best to win that matchup. But it’s more about assignment football. And when your starters don’t play a ton, games like this matter because you want them to feel like they came away feeling good about themselves and execution was good.”
Jacksonville has every reason to feel good after beating Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Atlanta by a combined 77-20 this month, with its warm-up ahead of the regular season now complete.
The Jaguars will spend the next few days confronting tough decisions about the bottom of its roster, ahead of the NFL’s 53-player cutdown deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Aug, 27.
“I think there’s a lot of competition on this team. Usually, you go in and you might have two or three bubble guys, I think we’ve got a lot more than that in terms of just competition to make the final 53,” Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said on Aug. 17.
“Are we going to keep six at one position or seven? There’s just going to be a lot of debates that go on … to figure this out.”
Twelve days will separate the finalization of Jacksonville’s roster and its 2024 regular-season opener, at Miami on Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. ET.
