Jaguars report card: Doug Pederson gets high marks for masterful job in comeback

Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette grades the Jaguars’ performance against the Los Angeles Chargers based on execution, effort and game circumstances.

Offense: B 

With the Jaguars having five first-half turnovers, including four interceptions by Trevor Lawrence, this might seem like a pretty generous grade.

But when you consider they pulled off the third-largest playoff comeback in NFL history from a 27-0 deficit, the offense deserves a high mark on resilience alone.

Credit Lawrence for not hanging his head and letting the early disasters unnerve him. He led four consecutive touchdown drives to get back in the game, completing 24 of his last 31 passes for 258 yards, and also led a 61-yard drive to set up Riley Patterson’s game-winning field goal.

Travis Etienne had 20 carries for 109 yards, none bigger than a 25-yard dash around right end on fourth-and-1 on the final possession.

Getting the first touchdown pass to Evan Engram just before the end of the half left a crack in the door, and the never-say-die Jaguars ended up walking right through it.

Lawrence made full use of his four primary receiving targets — Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, Evan Engram and Marvin Jones — who each had a TD reception and combined for 26 catches and 274 yards.

More Chargers-Jaguars coverage:

Game recap:Jaguars post largest comeback in franchise history, defeat Chargers 31-30 in wild-card round

Tracking Trevor:See how Trevor Lawrence's first playoff game stats compare to those of some all-time greats

By the numbers:Just how rare was Jaguars' playoff comeback win over Chargers? See the stunning statistics

Defense: B 

Given the final score, it doesn’t look like Mike Caldwell’s unit had a good game. But with three of the Chargers’ six scoring drives starting inside the Jaguars’ 20, the defense did as much to win the game as anybody.

It saved eight first-half points by holding the Chargers to a field goal after a muffed punt gave them a first down at the 6, which kept the score 27-0 instead of 31-0.

The Jaguars also forced another 3-pointer despite L.A. having a first-and-goal at the 10.

Roy Robertson-Harris (4 tackles for losses, one QB sack, two pass breakups) had a monster game.

Along with linebacker Devin Lloyd, Foley Fatukasi, Josh Allen and Foye Oluokun, the defensive front stonewalled the Chargers’ run game, with the exception of Austin Ekeler’s 13-yard TD run.

QB Justin Herbert (25 of 43, 273 yards) did a fair amount of damage, especially throwing to tight end Gerald Everett (6 catches, 109 yards), but L.A. never found the end zone in the second half.

The defense held the Chargers to 140 yards in their last six possessions, doing just enough to get off the field on four of seven third downs to keep the Jaguars in striking distance.

Special teams: C 

One of the Jaguars’ most reliable units got off to a horrific start in the first half.

A Chargers’ punt was fumbled when it went off the helmet of an unsuspecting Chris Claybrooks, who didn’t realize a JK Scott punt came up so short.

That was recovered at the 6-yard line, giving up three free points.

Another punt almost went off Claybrooks, which caused Tevaughn Campbell to pick it up and get a 4-yard return just across midfield, setting up the Jaguars’ first touchdown.

Logan Cooke had his own struggles as three first-half punts were not hit cleanly, and he was fortunate to get a 41.3-yard average out of them.

Cooke also ended up handling the kickoff duties as Patterson wasn’t getting proper depth to the Jaguars’ liking, though they did let Patterson try a mortar kick from midfield after their second touchdown. But Patterson did make the most important kick, the 36-year field goal that won the game at the gun. He's made 17 of his last 18 field goals since missing two attempts in the Kansas City Chiefs' loss two months ago.

Once again, Jamal Agnew provided a big spark with a 53-yard kick return to midfield, though the Jaguars didn’t do anything with it. He also had a 35-yard return to jump-start a drive that ended in a Lawrence TD pass to Zay Jones.

Coaching: A-plus

Other than the Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots when he was employed by the Philadelphia Eagles, this may go down as the crown jewel of Doug Pederson’s six-year head coaching career.

The fact that his team showed no signs of panicking when falling behind 27-0 is a testament to the resilient mindset he instills throughout the team.

Surprisingly, Pederson didn’t elect to go all-out aggressive after trailing by such a big margin. He passed up a fourth-and-2 from his own 36 late in the second quarter, but it paid off when the Jaguars got their first touchdown just before the half. He also elected not to challenge a 20-yard pass to tight end Gerald Everett, who clearly dropped the ball, that began a Chargers’ field goal drive in the third quarter.

But no Pederson moment was bigger for the Jaguars than him calling timeout with 1:28 left and facing a fourth-and-1 at the Chargers' 41. He saw L.A. was stacking the line of scrimmage to sell out for a Lawrence QB sneak, so he thought it over and sent the speedy Etienne off-tackle and he got outside for a 25-yard gain to set up Patterson's game-winning field goal

When things were looking bleak, Pederson had a calm sideline conversation with Lawrence after his fourth turnover. It was another sign to the Jaguars that their coach understood it was a 60-minute game, so no need to ramp up the pressure on his players. Pederson's coolness under fire was a big factor in the historic comeback.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars report card: Doug Pederson deserves high marks for historic rally