JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ā Doug Pederson has known Andy Reid for nearly 30 years.
He played for Reid in Green Bay (1996-98) and then Philadelphia (1999). He spent seven years coaching under Reid in Philadelphia (2009-12) and then Kansas City (2013-15).
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They share offensive philosophies, coaching principles and core beliefs.
Theyāll share the field for the third time in 10 months when Pederson and the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) host Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) on Sunday. And Pederson is still looking for a breakthrough victory against his mentor and close friend.
āI got a ton of respect for Coach Reid and his career and what heās done,ā Pederson said Wednesday. āIāve played for him. I worked for him and obviously youād love to eventually win a football game against him.ā
Pederson is 0-3 in head-to-head matchups against Reid, with all three of those played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
The Chiefs beat Pederson and Philadelphia 27-20 in Week 2 of the 2017 season; the Eagles rebounded and ultimately won the Super Bowl. The Chiefs swept the Jaguars last season, winning 27-17 in Week 10 and 27-20 in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.
Pederson still laments the most recent one. His defense gave up a 98-yard drive with Patrick Mahomes (sprained ankle) sidelined in the second quarter. His offense had two chances to tie the game in the third and couldnāt move the ball past midfield, and then turned the ball over twice in the fourth.
āThere were some missed opportunities by us,ā Pederson recalled. āThose were critical and those were big and all of that. But I felt like, too, we just missed the opportunities that were there. Whether thatās the outcome of the game or not, who knows?
āMaybe fortunately for us itās a learning experience and something that our young football team can take away from moments like that. When youāre playing good teams like this and defending world championship teams, you canāt make those mistakes and expect to win.ā
Reid has noticed similarities between Kansas City and Jacksonville, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
It's no surprise, either, given how much Pederson studied and learned while playing and coaching under Reid.
āEverywhere you go, you take a piece of it and put it in there,ā Reid said. āI think he's probably put his own flair on things. I'm sure there are things he does that he took from here, but we were together a long time.ā
The Chiefs are 3Ā½-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Jacksonville went 5-0 as home underdogs last season, the best single-season mark by any team in the Super Bowl era.
āItāll be a good test for early in the season to see where weāre at,ā Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk said. āItās big for us, Week 2, to really get a taste of the caliber of football and the level of football that we want to play. Weāre going to have to beat teams like this to get to where we want to go.
āItās really important for us to approach it that way and see how we respond.ā
Pederson wonāt mention either Kansas City loss this week. He doesnāt need to. But heāll surely think about those along with the possibility of getting a first win against his mentor.
āI donāt really go back,ā Pederson said. āThatās why they call it history; itās in the past. We focus on the future, focus on the present and trying to get better.ā
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AP Sports Writer David Skretta in Kansas City contributed to this report.
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