Jaguars hope to reverse struggles out west, but face stiff test against Los Angeles Chargers

The Jaguars (1-1) have a huge hurdle to leap over this Sunday.

Just days after a dominating shutout victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars are taking their talents out west to take on the Los Angeles Chargers (1-1). Through its history, Jacksonville has not fared well when making the voyage to the other side of the states.

The team's first trip out west came in 1996, the second year of the franchise's existence, facing off against the then-Oakland Raiders. They lost 17-3, but won the following year's bout against the Raiders 20-9 in the team's trip out to the pacific time zone.

In all, Jacksonville has won just three games out west, all against Oakland, splitting the West Coast series with the team, 3-3. The Raiders' final game in Oakland resulted in a loss to the Gardner Minshew-led Jaguars in 2019, with Jacksonville winning in stunning fashion, 20-16.

The rest of the team's trips out west haven't faired as well. The Jaguars have lost every single one of their games to the four other West Coast teams, the San Francisco 49ers (0-2), San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers (0-5), the L.A. Rams (0-1) and the Seattle Seahawks (0-4).

In total, the team has a 3-15 record out west. They'll look to rectify that on Sunday.

Note: The Arizona Cardinals are not counted in these calculations. 

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Pederson has had success out west

While Jacksonville has had its shortcomings out west, that means next to nothing with new leadership in town.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson has no connection to Jacksonville's losses. His record with the Jaguars is 1-1, and there's no reason to think the team's future will be tied to their past lapses.

Unlike the Jaguars, Pederson has had success out west. In fact, he has a winning record of 4-2, defeating the Los Angeles Rams twice (2017 and 2018), San Dego Chargers (2017) and the San Francisco 49ers (2020). He lost to the Seattle Seahawks twice (2016 and 2017).

On Monday, Pederson was asked about his success out west and the challenges that East Coast teams have in making the long voyage to the other side of the country.

During his first year as the Eagles' coach in 2016, Pederson and his team traveled out on the Friday prior to the game. The team, though, didn't have much success, losing 26-15.

It was then that Pederson consulted with sleep experts to figure out the best time to leave during the week, especially when accounting for the difference in time (three hours).

"Come to find out if you kind of keep your body on East Coast time and leave on Saturday and just treat it that way, you tend to have a little bit more success on game day, especially when you wake up and you feel a little bit more refreshed," Pederson explained.

The Jaguars will travel out to L.A. on Saturday, keeping everything the same as if they are East Coast time, Pederson said.

"It just seems to work out. We have to make sure the players stay hydrated and the nutrition aspect and work out some of the flight issues," Pederson said. "You might have some inflammation and things like that on the flight. We’ll work all that stuff out when we land and just prepare ourselves to play a game."

Jaguars players prepare for tough battle against Chargers

With all of the adjustments the team will have to make away from the gridiron, the real challenge will be on the field when they take on the Chargers, a team that has a budding superstar in quarterback Justin Herbert.

Herbert is currently dealing with a rib injury suffered in last week's Thursday Night Football contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Jaguars will still have their hands full.

In 12 games played against the Chargers, the Jaguars hold a 3-9 record. All of those wins, of course, have been at home, most recently an overtime victory in 2017, 20-17. They haven't had much success against them, home or away, but that's oftentimes the case with West Coast teams.

"You have to have good teams to go out there because historically, too, those teams here have been pretty good on the West Coast. This is a pretty good team we’re playing this weekend," Pederson said.

Jaguars tight end Evan Engram added to what Pederson said earlier in the day.

The players will have to hold themselves accountable and take care of their bodies to stay focused.

"When kickoff happens on Sunday, it’s just football and we’re ready for it,” Engram said.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars look to end West Coast blues against L.A. Chargers in Week 3