Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence wasn’t on the same page with his receivers on three plays that resulted in interceptions against the Cleveland Browns. That doesn’t mean Calvin Ridley and/or Zay Jones were running the wrong routes, according to offensive coordinator Press Taylor.
“There’s a big difference in running the wrong route and not being on the exact same page with how you’re running a route. We have not had wrong routes.” Taylor said Thursday. “There has not been ‘this person doesn’t know what they’re doing, they’re running the wrong route,’ things like that.”
Jaguars wide receivers coach Chad Hall echoed the sentiment in an interview with Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union:
#Jaguars WR coach Chad Hall says Ridley did not run any wrong route against #Browns, but acknowledges Kirk has been Trevor’s “security blanket” and WR corps must collectively step up to offset it.
— Eugene Frenette (@GeneFrenette) December 14, 2023
So what was amiss on the three turnovers? Taylor explained each of the interceptions in a lengthy answer.
“One of them, we didn’t expect the ball at the time the ball came out, head wasn’t around,” Taylor said. “It’s a missed opportunity and unfortunately turned into an interception.”
Throws behind him but Ridley has get his eyes back faster. Who’s this on Jacksonville? #DUUUVAL #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/pQhxOetFQS
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) December 10, 2023
“Just [need to] get my head around a little faster,” Ridley said Wednesday. “I thought I had a certain look and I was trying to get up on the DB and take him a certain way so we could get another person to pop open. It was a different look and I didn’t get my head around fast enough and the ball came out a little faster than I thought.”
A second interception thrown Ridley’s direction didn’t look to have much of a chance
.@gnewsii's second INT of the season and our THIRD of the game#JAXvsCLE on CBS & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/BIYJDyQkoz
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 10, 2023
“We had a zero blitz, ball’s gotta come out,” Taylor explained. “They’re bringing more pressures than we have protectors. Quarterback threw a go ball, I think the receiver thought the ball would get thrown earlier because of where the coverage was, but again, it’s understanding the entire situation and what the quarterback is dealing with. The ball comes out early, turned into an interception as well.”
Lawrence took the blame for that one after the game.
“That one is on me,” Lawrence said Sunday. “They brought a pressure that we weren’t able to pick up. They brought too many and I was trying to take a shot outside and the corner did a good job playing it. I put it out there a little too far and he made a good play.”
The third was thrown deep to Jones.
“We took a post route a little flatter across the field where we were expecting maybe a little deeper angle than that,” Taylor said.
.@MartyMargg1 ran his route to perfection 🤌#JAXvsCLE on CBS & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/ZDwZZxG91Q
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 10, 2023
According to Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, it “was just an overthrow.”
“Nobody ran a wrong route in those instances,” Taylor reiterated Thursday. “Just in terms of the details of it, where we thought the ball was gonna go, or where we thought the ball was gonna be thrown, or at a certain time, just barely off. Unfortunately, on all of those plays it turned into interceptions.”
There’s no doubt there are issues that need ironing out for the Jaguars, especially with Christian Kirk not coming back any time soon. Those problems may not fall on the shoulders of the team’s wide receivers as much as it seems, though.
