The day after: “We never doubted…”

January 20, 2023 in Cheerleader News Tagged cowboysjacksonville, dallas, jacksonville, jaguars, jaguarsjacksonville - 9 Minutes

JACKSONVILLE – Hope is quickly becoming reality.

The Jaguars, after a five game losing streak in October, have won four of six games – including the last two in a row. The playoffs are now suddenly a real possibility. Outside linebacker Josh Allen says the difference is simple:

Early season adversity becomes late season success.

“We never had it; we never doubted it,” Allen said Monday, a day after the Jaguars rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit in a 40-34 overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys at TIAA Bank Field.

“I think we’ve gone through a learning curve on how to handle adversity, and I think we’ve handled it pretty well.”

The Jaguars (6-8), after a 2-6 start to the season, now control their postseason destiny entering the final three games. They visit the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Thursday.

“I’m not thinking about last Thursday, to be honest,” Pederson said. “We have a good football team that we are up against on Thursday night, anything is possible, I understand that, we still have a long way to go. But if we continue to improve on what we have done here in the last month of the season performance, then I think it’s possible.”

The Jaguars are one game behind the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans (7-7), who have lost four straight games including a 17-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The Jaguars beat the Titans, 36-22, in Nashville in Week 14.

“This is where it’s fun,” wide receiver Zay Jones said. “It’s going to come down to who wants it more, who executes. We get to see what we’ve done down there. I’m very confident in the guys we’re going to fight.”

The Jaguars and Titans will play in the regular season finale at TIAA Bank Field. Because of the victory in Week 14, the Jaguars will win the South if they win the final and the teams meet. The Titans host the Houston Texans (1-12-1) and Dallas (10-4) before the finale, while the Jaguars visit the Jets (7-7) on Thursday and the Texans in Week 17.

“We’re playing good football right now,” Jones said. “I want to continue the same process that we’ve had. Doug has done a great job of giving us the whole perspective, ‘OK, what’s the rest of the schedule?’ We still take it day by day and focus. That’s going to be our approach.

“As good as it was on Sunday, it’s a very, very short week – and we’re going to play a very, very good team at home. Our preparation will speed up a little bit with the short week. “We’re excited for another opportunity to grow. as a football team.”

Allen said, “It’s a big game because it’s the next game. That’s what we preach: The next game is the most important game. We do our business for the week, and then we come on Sunday and do what we need to do. We do it.” that business, then it’s on to the next one.”

The Jaguars’ first six losses of the season have all been by a score or less, and they have blown leads in six of those games. They’ve gone against a touchdown by a touchdown or more in each of their last four wins.

“We’re just learning every week and — learning from our mistakes and learning from the positives,” Pederson said. “We’re just growing as a football team, the more time you spend together, you become tougher and overcome some bad situations, I just think it’s part of the growth process of where we’ve come from and how we’ve gone. learned”.

Jones on Monday summed up a line he first used in November — that while “October was terrible” because of the league’s loss that month, “November and December are where it counts.”

“This Jaguars team is special,” Jones said. “It’s just something special that this team has overcome. I wouldn’t change anything now in our season, the problem. It helps build something going forward. I think we’re going in the right direction. I’m just very happy with this team.”