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After a 0-3 start, Lawrence and the Jaguars are facing self-doubt after a devastating defeat
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After a 0-3 start, Lawrence and the Jaguars are facing self-doubt after a devastating defeat

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence recognized a difficult truth last week when he described how poorly he and his team played earlier in the season.

On Monday it was coach Doug Pederson’s turn.

“It’s really shocking,” Pederson said. after a 47-10 defeat against Buffalo that dropped the Jaguars to 0-3. “Very disappointing. People hate to say it, but the reality is that’s who we are now. We’re not a very good football team. And we have to change that.”

Their plane also had to be repaired. The Jaguars’ flight home was delayed due to mechanical problems, the team said.

The Jaguars’ offense was limited to 40 points and struggled to stay on the field. And Jacksonville’s defense suddenly became porous as the Bills – in the first half alone – scored touchdowns on each of their five possessions, gained 288 yards and converted 6 of 8 third-down situations and both fourth-down opportunities.

This is the first time in his eight years as head coach that Pederson has started a season 0-3, including against Philadelphia. Lawrence has lost eight straight games since last season, with its last win being a 24-21 victory at Houston on Nov. 26.

The Jaguars were on a roll at this point, improving their record to 8-3, but then stumbled to 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

Continuing where they left off last year raises further questions about Lawrence’s confidence and Pederson’s leadership abilities.

“Disappointment would be an understatement,” Lawrence said after a week in which he called for open discussions about the Jaguars’ mistakes.

“It’s just one of those moments where we don’t have any momentum,” Lawrence said. “It seems like everyone makes a bad play at the wrong time, including me.”

The Jaguars opened the season with 14-0 and 17-7 leads, eventually losing 20-17 to Miami. Last week, a slow-starting offense couldn’t get out of a 13-3 halftime hole, losing 18-13 to Cleveland.

But instead of correcting course, the Jaguars fell behind 34-3 on Monday – their largest halftime deficit in franchise history.

Lawrence completed 21 of 38 passes for 178 yards and caught a touchdown pass to tight end Brenton Strange on the opening drive of the second half. He recorded his first interception of the season when he sent a pass sailing over the head of receiver Brian Thomas Jr. that was intercepted by Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin, leading to Buffalo taking a 27-3 lead five plays later on Josh Allen’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir.

After finishing the first half completing 10 of 22 passes for 59 yards, Lawrence said there was enough blame for everyone but placed the brunt of the burden on his shoulders.

“I have to play really well for us to win,” said Lawrence, who signed a $275 million contract extension in June that makes him one of the NFL’s highest-paid players. “That’s the NFL. The quarterback has to play well every week for us to have a chance to win. I feel like I haven’t done that consistently enough. So I’ve imposed that on myself.”

The failure in defense did not help.

“I want everyone to train and play better. We’ll leave it at that,” Pederson said.

The Jaguars will play their next two games against opponents from the AFC South Division, beginning on Sunday in Houston.

“We have to go ahead and flush it away,” Lawrence said.

“We felt like we had a chance to show who we are in a prime-time game on Monday night,” he added. “That’s not us. We know that. But it looked like we were. We have to change that. It’s up to us.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long contributed to this report.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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