Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones delivered what might be the understatement of the NFL season on Sunday.
“It wasn’t our day today,” Jones remarked after the Jaguars suffered a franchise-worst 52-6 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Lions dominated from the start, scoring touchdowns on their first seven drives, then adding a field goal and running out the final 6:45 to secure the win.
Detroit set a franchise record with 645 total yards, compared to Jacksonville’s 170. The Lions excelled on key downs, converting 6-of-10 on third down and 3-of-3 on fourth down.
“In the NFL, you never know what the weekend will bring,” Jones said. “You aim to compete until the end, but we didn’t do that this week, so it stinks. We need to keep working and come together. Like I said, it wasn’t our day. The goal is to be in it in the fourth quarter, which requires doing your job on each play and not letting external factors distract you.”
Jones completed 17 of 29 passes for 138 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, adding 7 rushing yards on two attempts.
The former Alabama All-American and New England Patriots quarterback made his second consecutive start in place of Trevor Lawrence. Last week, the Jaguars lost 12-7 to the Minnesota Vikings.
Lawrence has been sidelined by a left shoulder injury.
“We’ll see how he progresses during the bye week,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. “I’m not ready to commit to anything yet. We have time, so we’ll see how it goes.”
However, Pederson may be running out of time.
While Detroit improved to 9-1 on Sunday, Jacksonville fell to 2-9, with pregame reports suggesting Pederson’s job security is uncertain heading into the bye week. The Jaguars’ next game is on Dec. 1 against the Houston Texans.
“I’ve been in this league a long time,” Pederson said. “If something happens, it happens. For now, my job is to prepare for a tough division opponent in two weeks.”
After the game, Jones praised Pederson’s leadership.
“Coach Pederson is awesome,” Jones said. “He’s a great coach and leader. Things aren’t going our way right now, but we’ll keep working. The bye week is a good opportunity to reset.”
While Jones struggled, former Alabama teammate Jameson Williams shined, catching four passes for 124 yards. Williams scored a 64-yard touchdown on a pass from Jared Goff with 12:55 left in the third quarter.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who didn’t overlap with Jones at Alabama, also delivered big plays. Gibbs rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and caught a 54-yard pass, surpassing 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the 2024 season. Gibbs’ 1-yard touchdown run came with 12:26 remaining in the first half.
