JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars reached a new low under coach Doug Pederson.
They managed 143 yards — the fifth fewest in franchise history — in a 12-7 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.
Mac Jones, filling in for injured starter Trevor Lawrence (shoulder), turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter. Jones threw two interceptions, including one in the closing minutes and with Jacksonville driving.
Running back Tank Bigsby injured his right ankle in the first quarter and played sparingly the rest of the way. Rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. finished with just three targets, the first coming in the final minute of the third quarter.
And Jacksonville (2-8) essentially squandered three interceptions, failing to score a single point off Sam Darnold’s turnovers. The offense averaged 2.9 yards a play in three drives that followed Darnold’s picks.
“We’ve got to do better, and it starts with me,” Jones said.
Jacksonville became the first NFL team since 2006 to lose while giving up no touchdowns and getting three turnovers, according to CBS. Teams had won 195 consecutive games with those advantages.
Jones, making his first start in his hometown since high school, completed 14 of 22 passes for 111 yards and was sacked three times. He pushed his way across the goal line to cap a 70-yard drive on Jacksonville’s second possession but managed 71 yards of total offense the rest of the way.
“We got to make plays, players got to make plays,” right tackle Anton Harrison said. “It sucks. We go out there three-and-out, three-and-out. We’re not helping the defense. We got to try to just flip that around. We got to help the defense.”
The defense did its job, holding the Vikings (7-2) to four field goals and didn’t allow a touchdown in five red-zone trips.
It wasn’t enough for a clawless and seemingly clueless offense.
Minnesota ran 82 plays to Jacksonville’s 43. The Vikings held the ball for 42 minutes, 19 seconds to Jacksonville’s 17:41. Minnesota picked up 28 first downs to Jacksonville’s 10. The Vikings ran 39 plays in Jaguars territory and finished with 402 yards.
The Jaguars had a chance late thanks to Travon Walker’s sack on a third-and-1 play, an odd call against a team that was doing nothing offensively. But Jones threw his second pick with 1:49 remaining, a pass that was nowhere near intended receiver Gabe Davis.
Pederson got chippy when asked about it.
“I’m not going to go through the details of the play because you guys wouldn’t figure it out,” Pederson told reporters. “But we’ll look at the tape (Monday) and we’ll make those corrections.”
The Jaguars have lost 13 of their last 16 and Pederson’s future keeps getting cloudier. No one would be surprised to see owner Shad Khan fire Pederson and perhaps general manager Trent Baalke during the team’s bye week that begins next Sunday. After all, Khan made it clear before the season that this is the best collection of talent the team has assembled during his tenure.
What’s happening on the field tells a different story.
“Never expected to be here,” Pederson said. “We had five or six games one-score games. It’s hard. As a team, as coaches, we’re making it hard, too hard. And the guys are frustrated, and they should be; and they’re angry, and they should be because we all are. But we have to channel it in a positive way and get ready for another one.”
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