JACKSONVILLE – The moment will be big, and loud. Really big – and really, really loud.
Head Coach Doug Pederson coached long enough where the Jaguars will play their biggest game of the season to date to know that – and he had this to say about the atmosphere at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.: It’s a factor. A real factor.
“Nothing prepares you for that,” Pederson said as the Jaguars (10-8) prepared to play the Kansas City Chiefs (14-3) Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence called the environment at Arrowhead: “One of – if not the – best in the NFL.”
“I can’t imagine it will be much louder than our fans were here Saturday, honestly, but that was when we were on defense – not on offense,” Lawrence said.
Pederson, in his first season as the Jaguars’ head coach, spent three seasons as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator – 2013-2015.
“It’s a great atmosphere and these fans are passionate about the Chiefs,” Pederson said. “It’s the loudest [stadium in the NFL] for a reason. We just have to be able to go in there and just focus in more specifically on your job. You have to be able to hear in the huddle, things of that nature.
“I can turn the noise here [in practice] as loud as I want, and it’s not going to make an impact. It’s loud for them. It’s loud for their defense. We both have to play in it. You just have to have a lot of the non-verbal communication on point.”
The Jaguars lost to the Chiefs, 27-17, in Kansas City in Week 10 – and Pederson was asked if a regular-season experience helps prepare for a postseason game in the same venue.
“It does – just the environment, being there, seeing it,” he said. “Some of the guys haven’t been there before, then having gone there during the season helps a little bit. But this will be different. Playoff football’s different and the crowds are different.”
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