Doug Pederson: Losing Andre Cisco to injury had ‘domino effect’

Jacksonville Jaguars second-year safety Andre Cisco was listed as questionable last week for a Week 13 game against the Detroit Lions, but it was still a relative surprise when he wasn’t able to play Sunday.

With Cisco out of action, the Jacksonville defense had a horrendous showing, allowing the Lions to score on their first eight possessions of the game. On Wednesday, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said that wasn’t a coincidence.

“I’m optimistic that he’ll go [against the Tennessee Titans],” Pederson said of Cisco. “It did move some things around last week. It took Andrew [Wingard] and it took DT, Daniel Thomas, playing defense a little bit more, taking away from special teams, so it’s sort of that domino effect on your football team, and it affects a lot of areas. We’re hopeful that Cisco can go and solidify that secondary.”

Wingard played 100 percent of the defensive snaps against the Lions, and Thomas got snaps on defense (six) for the first time in 2022.

While Wingard didn’t play particularly poorly for the Jaguars on Sunday, the defense certainly looked out of sorts. It allowed Lions quarterback Jared Goff to complete over 75 percent of his passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns. Detroit never punted and never turned the ball over.

Cisco, who was limited in practice Wednesday, leads the Jaguars in interceptions with three and has emerged as an enforcer in the back of the Jacksonville secondary.

Story originally appeared on Jaguars Wire