Wednesday update: “Full steam ahead …”

JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars’ healthy stars and front-line players will play Sunday, and they will play hard.

Doug Pederson said he knows no other way.

“There is never a meaningless game – never ever, ever, ever,” Pederson said.

The Jaguars’ head coach on Wednesday said he will play all healthy players against the Houston Texans (2-12-1) at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, Sunday – despite the following week’s regular-season finale guaranteed to be for the 2022 AFC South title.

“That’s kind of what we expected,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “That’s what we want. You have to finish strong. That’s the message. We get to finish with two division games, so it’s a great opportunity for us.

“It’s another opportunity to show who we are, to put our best foot forward, to play another complete game, to keep this momentum that we have. If you go out there and lay an egg, no one’s feeling good about that, especially heading into the last week.”

While NFL teams sometimes rest front-line players in similar late-season situations, Pederson said that’s not his philosophy – and that the Jaguars on Sunday will be “full steam ahead.”

“You play to win every game,” he said. “The only way I rest players is if they’re hurt and can’t go.”

The Jaguars (7-8), winners of three consecutive games, will win the AFC South by beating the Tennessee Titans (7-8) at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville in Week 18. They cannot clinch the South Sunday, but beating the Texans would improve their chances to win the South. That’s because they can win the South with a tie against Tennessee if they beat Texans.