The Jaguars had trouble with touchdowns and touching down.
After putting up arguably the worst effort of any Week 3 NFL team in a 47-10 blowout loss to the Bills, the Jaguars likely just wanted to get out of Buffalo and head home to Jacksonville and lick their wounds.
However, NFL Network reported the Jaguars couldn’t depart from Buffalo until after 1 a.m. ET due to some mechanical issues with their plane.
A roughly 1 a.m. departure time set Jacksonville up for quite a late arrival in their home state following a nearly three-hour delay.
The game ended around 10:30 p.m. ET, although the outcome was decided well before that.
One could imagine that the Jaguars’ locker room wasn’t happy to be leaving Buffalo, having been smashed so badly in prime time in front of the whole country, and it probably only got worse while they waited on the tarmac to figure out what has happened this season.
“It’s really shocking. Very disappointed. You hate to say it, but the reality is we’re not very good right now,” Pederson said. “I need everybody to coach and play better. Let’s leave it at that.”
The extremely late return won’t do them any favors in Week 4 on a short week when they again have to travel, this time to face the division rival Houston Texans.
After being destroyed by the Bills, the Jaguars are hoping to gain some respect throughout the league with a win in Houston.
If not, the team could be looking at wholesale changes to their personnel and staff after the totally non-competitive game from the opening drive.
The bulk of that work will be laid upon the feet of coach Doug Pederson, who needs to right the ship quickly.
The Jaguars came into this season with high hopes of competing for the AFC South title, but they’re tied for last place.
Jacksonville and the Titans are 0-3, the Colts are 1-2 and the Texans lead the pack with a 2-1 record.
Pederson has been the team’s coach since 2022 when he took over for flameout Urban Meyer.
Under Pederson, the Jaguars have produced two disappointing 9-8 seasons after undoubtedly having enough talent to compete deep into the playoffs, but their 0-3 record this season is by far the toughest pill for the franchise to swallow.
