I admit, I didn’t have that on my radar screen at all, the Jaguars with an astonishing record of 11 wins and four small defeats at this stage of the year.
After all, the franchise was coming off an abominable four-13 campaign in 2024, which cost head coach Doug Pederson his job. So-called savior Trevor Lawrence, limited to just ten games, was nothing divine after four years in the NFL and the roster seemed full of holes.
There was every reason to doubt the representatives of North Florida.
The hiring of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen as an instructor seemed like a good move, but his first press conference, where he randomly uttered the team’s slogan, threw a cold shower on the excitement.
Everyone was laughing at the sight of him shouting “Duuuuuval” in a way that made one cringe.
Then in week two, there was this strange interaction between Coen and Lawrence during their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals where the quarterback seemed to wave at his coach to get out of his mind. It had ignited the powder.
But you know, transformations and victories are not won in a press conference or with a simple gesture in the heat of a match. They take place over the long term and with a solid plan and that is exactly what Coen has been able to accomplish with this team and, especially, Lawrence, the very first pick in the 2021 draft.
Lawrence had the key to all hopes
In the world of football, there is no player who is more important than the quarterback. For this reason, allowing Trevor Lawrence to regain the confidence he had when he was an absolute terror with the Clemson University Tigers in the NCAA was essential.
And that’s exactly what Coen seems to have been able to accomplish and it’s especially evident since mid-November, which just so happens to coincide with the start of the Jaguars’ six-game winning streak.
During this streak which began with a 35-6 triumph over the powerful Los Angeles Chargers (11-4), Lawrence boasts 16 touchdowns and five interceptions, including none in his last four outings. He amassed 1,082 yards in these games alone.
All this means that, with two games still to go, the slender six-foot-six athlete has already established a personal high of 26 touchdown passes. He also added seven rushing touchdowns, which is another mark and he should also have the most rushing yards total.
However, he is not expected to break his personal bests for air yards, but that can be explained by the adaptation period he and Coen had to go through at the start of the year.
Coen had worked miracles with Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers thanks to his creative offensive schemes. He brought that with him and after allowing Lawrence to understand them well and giving him the confidence to execute them, we finally see the one we expected when Jacksonville made the 1is choice in 2021.
It’s no coincidence that the Jaguars have the 8e best offense in the league with an average of 27.3 points while they can do damage both by passing and running.
A solid defense
However, talking only about the attack would not be fair to the quality of what the Florida squad does defensively. Of course, by air, it’s not always pretty as the team arrives at 25e ranks for air yards allowed per game (230), but she is simply exceptional at blocking the ground game.
No team is doing better than the Jaguars this year as they only concede 87 yards to the opponent per game. They owe this in large part to the brilliance of linebackers Devin Loyd and Foyesade Oluokun, author of 122 tackles, defensive tackle Arik Armstead and defensive end Travon Walker. This gives solid pillars which prevent clubs from properly deploying their ground game.
And that, when we are able to neutralize the opponent on this aspect of the game that is so crucial in the playoffs, it increases the chances of going some way on the road that leads to the Super Bowl.
Do the Jaguars have a perfect team? No not at all. But just seeing them in this position at this stage of the season is exceptionally good. No one expected the cake to rise to this extent.
But most importantly, Lawrence, whom Jacksonville will pay $55 million a year through 2030, has reached his potential. And that bodes well for the future.
