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By Peter
King
January
16, 2023
Coach of the week
Phil Rauscher, offensive line coach, Jacksonville. This
37-year-old O-line coach had a major hand in the Jags’ win over the Chargers
Saturday night, as coach Doug
Pederson told me. It was Rauscher who came up with the
idea for the three backs stationed behind Trevor Lawrence on
fourth-and-18-inches from the Chargers’ 41-yard line with 1:27 to play. While
the Jags took a timeout and decided to change the call to the Rauscher play,
the Chargers undoubtedly wondered if the Jags would simply try to sneak Trevor
Lawrence, or have him dive with the ball up in the air, a la Brady, to get
forward progress for a first down. The Chargers clearly didn’t count on Travis Etienne’s speed
around the edge. He took the ball from Lawrence as the Chargers clogged the
line and sprinted around the right end for 25 yards to the L.A. 15-yard line,
needing only a field goal to win. Great call by Doug Pederson; great play
design by Rauscher.
