Doug Pederson Says Jaguars Don't Need 'Rah-Rah Stuff' for Motivation After 0-3 Start

Things are not trending in the right direction for the Jacksonville Jaguars following an 0-3 start to the season, and head coach Doug Pederson isn't looking for any stirring motivational speeches moving forward.

"Coaches need to coach and players need to play," he told reporters Tuesday. "If you want to be an elite football team it's led from within. It's led by the players. The speeches are done. The speeches are over. We don't need any more rah-rah stuff. It's just time to go play football. Fix the mistakes and do everything we can to play our best football this weekend."

At this point, it seems like forever ago that the Jaguars were 8-3 last season with an opportunity to play for the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs.

They collapsed down the stretch with losses in five of their final six games and missed the playoffs entirely. The start of this season was a chance to put that in the rearview mirror and start building toward a potential postseason run.

So much for that.

Pederson's team blew a double-digit lead in the second half of its opener against the Miami Dolphins, lost its home opener to a Cleveland Browns team that doesn't have another win and then reached a low point Monday with a 47-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

It was the type of performance that is usually reserved for big-time college programs playing lesser opponents they paid to be on the field and quite a shocking development at the NFL level, even if the Bills are potential Super Bowl contenders.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is the franchise cornerstone, but hasn't played up to his potential in the early going this season by completing 52.8 percent of his passes for 560 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

The defense also looked lost against Josh Allen and Co., and things don't get much easier with a Week 4 showdown against C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

Another defeat could have people asking questions about whether this is a lost season and about Pederson's job status, so the pressure will firmly be on the Jaguars in the divisional contest. To hear the coach tell it, any comeback this season starts with everyone doing their jobs leading into Sunday's game.