Jaguars HC Doug Pederson makes startling admission about Ravens' defensive play call
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh presumably likes to keep opposing teams guessing.
Which is probably why he parted ways with former defensive coordinator Don Martindale in January, who had earned a reputation for predictable play-calling, and replaced him with Mike Macdonald.
But following Sunday’s 28-27 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Harbaugh likely experienced deja vu after hearing comments Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson made to MMQB’s Albert Breer.
“We knew specifically how Baltimore was going to align to that formation and that type of play,” Pederson admitted. “And [Trevor Lawrence] was able to take that — and that's just a little thing — but he was able to take that from practice and throw a great pass to JaMycal (Hasty), who caught it and ran it in for that first touchdown.”
Pederson disclosed that the Jaguars ran that specific play several times during practice, explicitly for the Ravens defense.
Baltimore allowed two more touchdowns — both in the fourth quarter — as the Jaguars pulled off a major comeback and handed the Ravens their third loss in the final 15 seconds this year — a franchise first.
"We got lackadaisical out there, lack of communication,” linebacker Justin Houston said after the loss, per the team's official website. “The little things, I think that's what you've got to do. You've got do it for four quarters, not three. We didn't."
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