Why didn’t Doug Pederson just take the points against the Texans at the half?
Doug Pederson and the Jacksonville Jaguars don’t dwell on the past.
With Pederson at the helm, the territory of bold, aggressive calls in high-leverage circumstances will be explored.
When things work, the Jaguars benefit greatly and Pederson appears to be a genius.
When they fail, the Jaguars and Pederson are chastised for their aggressiveness.
The latter occurred in Week 12, when the Jaguars needed a doink off the crossbar from 58 yards out to secure a 24-21 must-win victory over the Houston Texans.
The Jaguars achieved the unthinkable in the final seconds of the first half, completing a 57-yard throw to Christian Kirk to get them down to the one-yard line. With the Jaguars leading 13-7 at halftime and the ball, Pederson had a choice: kick the chipshot field goal and go into halftime up 16-7, or go for the kill-shot and take a 20-7 lead with a chance to double-down after halftime.
Pederson kept the offense on the field with a ball to the right side to Travis Etienne, who was stuffed for no gain and gave Houston momentum heading into halftime. But Pederson stood by his choice a day later.
“I have faith in our players.” “I believe the players have faith in me to make these decisions and put them in positions to succeed,” Pederson said.
To that point, the Jaguars’ offense had been on fire, scoring on three of their first four offensive drives. The defense was also playing well, forcing punts on Houston’s first three drives.
“They all play a role in making those decisions.” It’s a no-brainer for the defense to open the third quarter. “With one second remaining, just kick the field goal and get the three points, and you’re up 16-7 going into the locker room, and it’s a different story,” Pederson said.
“I’m going to keep trusting our players and putting them in situations.” They know I’ll keep doing it, and I give respect to Houston for making a tremendous play. They just had us on that specific play.”
