The Jacksonville Jaguars are floundering, losing four straight games, and face the prospect of playing without Trevor Lawrence, who suffered yet another injury in Week 16.
As the Jags attempt to right the ship, the finger of blame will be pointed in every direction. Throughout this season, offensive coordinator Press Taylor, a first-time play-caller, has received criticism for the offensive struggles.
On Tuesday, Pederson defended Taylor yet again, noting that the turnovers -- four Sunday, including three by Lawrence (two interceptions, fumble) -- have truly hindered the offense from finding a groove. The coach also lumped in defensive missed tackles as part of the club's struggles.
"I know, being around this league, everybody wants to point the finger somewhere," Pederson said, . "We've got to do a better job taking care of the football. It's not about the plays. We've got to tackle better and we've got to take care of the football. Bottom line. If we do those things, those give us a chance to win football games."
While playing through a litany of injuries, Lawrence has eight giveaways over the last three weeks (five INT and three fumbles lost from Weeks 14-16).
Pederson noted that the coaching staff isn't blameless in the struggles, with persistent miscommunications falling on coaches to correct. Miscommunication issues led to both INTs on Sunday, per Pederson.
"We always give Trevor some outs when it comes to the passing game, particularly on third down, and we just missed the signal," Pederson said. "Those are the things that can't happen. Again, it makes the play worse. To me that falls back on coaches to make sure our players are prepared that way, that we've covered them in meetings, that we've covered them in practice, so that when they get in the game, they have all eyes on the quarterback.
"We have to do that. We have to get ourselves into better plays and out of bad ones. A lot of the non-verbal, hand signal communication has to take place. It's something we're going to continue to review, continue to have in our game plan, and we've got to get better."
Despite the four-game skid, the Jaguars remain atop the AFC South thanks to losses by the Colts and Texans. Pederson's club has a path to clinching the division this week with a win over the Panthers and losses by Indy (vs. Raiders) and Houston (vs. Titans).
The Jags could be staring at the possibility of C.J. Beathard under center in the pivotal matchup, as Lawrence is dealing with a shoulder injury. Jacksonville signed Matt Barkley to the 53-man roster on Tuesday, indicating that Lawrence might be unable to play Sunday against Carolina.
