Jaguars cite execution, ball security as main problems for offense

While no one thing can be the root of a 34-3 loss, the Jacksonville Jaguars recognize offensive hiccups were an issue Sunday, as they have been much of the year.

Jacksonville suffered its worst loss of the season against the San Francisco 49ers last week. The offense couldn’t score, and the defense couldn’t keep the 49ers out of the endzone.

The Jaguars managed 221 total offensive yards compared to San Francisco’s 437-yard total. Jacksonville also committed four turnovers in the loss.

While the Jaguars don’t think the offense is a lost cause, they acknowledged there’s work to do.

“It’s been there, it’s been on track on times,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said. “It just comes down to the preparation. … It just comes down to the execution.”

Pederson mentioned more consistent offensive line play as a way to help the offense take a step forward.

“Having five guys that would’ve been here for nine games, there would be more continuity,” Pederson said. “Really just understanding that there’s a lot of communication that has to go on up front, getting all of that down and the timing. It continues to improve but we can definitely get better there.”

Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne Jr. pointed to ball security as a way the Jaguars could get the most out of their offense. The Jags committed two fumbles and two interceptions in Sunday’s loss.

“There’s so many times that we just beat ourselves,” Etienne said. “If we don’t turn the ball over, we put points on the board and we’re not even talking about how the offense didn’t get going, the offense is going. For us, we just have to work on ball security, that’s something we can easily fix and that we are going to fix.”

Like Pederson, Etienne isn’t concerned about the offense finding its form after its disappointing performance against San Francisco.

“We know the work that we put in and we see what we can do, you see flashes of it week-in and week-out,” Etienne said. “I feel like no one is worried about if we could get going.”