JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Each day the Jacksonville Jaguars players entered their training facility in preparation for their Week 14 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts — a game that would go a long way to determining first place in the AFC South with four weeks left in the NFL’s regular season — they noticed every television broadcasting discussions about the success stories and prospects of some of their division rivals.
The surprising front-runner Indianapolis Colts, anchored by a resurgent Daniel Jones and MVP candidate running back Jonathan Taylor, drew plenty of praise and lofty projections, as did the rebounding Houston Texans and the fierce defense that has given the most prolific offenses fits.
Jaguars players also observed how scarcely the talking heads discussed their success or where they factored into the late-season equation. That’s exactly what Liam Coen wanted, and it’s why the first-year head coach issued instructions to let the outside noise seep in rather than insulate his players from it.
All season long, Coen has harped on the need for the Jaguars to play with an edge, and he has looked for every tool available to help cultivate that edge. Now, he aimed to use disrespect to his team’s advantage as it approached one of the biggest games the franchise has played in years.
Much like the other buttons and levers Coen has pushed and pulled this season, this latest tactic did the trick. The Jaguars came out on a chilly, rain-soaked day at EverBank Stadium and dominated the Colts for a 36-19 victory. The win improved Jacksonville’s record to 9-4 and put the Jaguars firmly in the driver’s seat with just one month of regular season action remaining.
“Total team effort,” is how multiple Jaguars players described the game, which they led from start to finish. The defense recorded three turnovers to post its seventh multiple-takeaway game of the season and held Taylor to 74 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in a game Jones left with an Achilles’ tendon injury that could end his season. The offense executed with balance while riding two rushing touchdowns from running back Travis Etienne and two passing touchdowns from quarterback Trevor Lawrence to victory.
“Our guys took control of the moment, I guess you could say,” Coen said after the game, “understanding that it was a big game in a lot of ways. Our guys have responded in so many ways in these big games. You look at Kansas City (in Week 5), San Francisco (Week 4), some of those moments where they ultimately always feel kind of disrespected and that’s something that continues to feed our team. … Very proud of our guys. We got it done.”
Said defensive lineman Arik Armstead, “It’s just what we’ve been doing: playing with an edge. Playing together. Sticking together no matter what happens. That has been the message. But everything is a journey and you’ve got to go through it as a team and everything on that journey makes you the players and team that you end up becoming. … It’s been a fun ride thus far, but we’ve got a lot more to do.”
Sunday’s victory represented the fourth straight for a team that won just four games the entire 2024 season. In this stretch, the Jaguars have played some of their most complete ball of the season. However, Coen and his players point to the loss that preceded this stretch as the moment that produced the most growth. In Week 10, the then-5-3 Jaguars visited the 3-5 Houston Texans, who had dominated the division the two previous seasons but stumbled out of the gates in 2025. The Jaguars jumped out to a 20-3 second-quarter lead and held a healthy 29-10 advantage entering the fourth quarter. But Houston — led by backup quarterback Davis Mills — scored 18 consecutive points, the climax being a 32-yard fumble recovery returned by defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins for a touchdown as time expired, elevating his team to a 36-29 win.
The stunning collapse stung then, and it still stings now.
“That Texans game still haunts me,” Etienne said. “Every new win, I’m still thinking about that game and I know our whole team is as well.”
Said Coen, “Houston was good for us. I do believe that. The end of Houston was good for us to know that each game is going to be a 60-minute football game and our mindset and mentality has to be that way, and when you get into December, you’re going to go play some really difficult games on the schedule coming up, and everyone counts.”
Since that defeat, the Jaguars have won in a variety of ways. They blew out the Chargers, outlasted the Cardinals in overtime, thumped the Titans and knocked off Indianapolis in one of their most well-rounded performances yet.
From linebacker Devin Lloyd’s interception of Jones on Indianapolis’ first play from scrimmage, to Etienne’s first touchdown run four plays later, to the improvement Lawrence displayed in the deep passing game, completing throws for gains of 39, 37 and 30 yards after struggling in that department much of the season, to the fourth-quarter safety, the Jaguars accomplished their mission of executing all game and “not losing our minds in the fourth quarter,” as Etienne put it.
Jaguars coach Liam Coen encouraged his team to embrace the outside noise before their win over the Colts. (Corey Perrine / Florida Times-Union via Getty Images)
Now, Coen and his team control their own destiny. A winnable game against the New York Jets follows, then the toughest remaining test (on paper): a visit to face the Denver Broncos. A rematch with battered Indianapolis and the hapless Tennessee Titans will conclude the regular season.
If the playoffs began today, Jacksonville would hold the third seed in the AFC. There’s a belief within the locker room that this brand of complementary football and the keen focus that’s making it possible can carry over into the postseason, where anything can happen — even for a franchise with one playoff appearance in the last seven seasons.
Turning losing cultures into the breeding ground for success is supposed to take time. But there’s nothing slow or gradual about Coen’s rise from the college ranks to entry-level NFL assistant to head coach. So, why should the Jaguars endure a plodding revival?
“You know, we’ve had talent in Jacksonville for a minute,” linebacker Foyesade Oluokun said. The Jaguars just needed someone to show them the way, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. explained.
Jacksonville certainly remains a work in progress. Its defense has made dramatic strides, going from 31st in total defense last season to just outside the top 10 and one of the leaders in takeaways. The offense — Lawrence in particular — still must become more consistent, but the unit has gone from the bottom third in most major statistical categories in 2024 to 11th in scoring and rushing yards in 2025.
“It all comes from everything that (Coen) is about, everything that he brings to us and just having that dog mentality, that edge,” Thomas said. “That’s what he always says, ‘Come out and play with an edge,’ and I feel like that’s what we do, and that’s why we’re where we’re at.”
Now perched atop the division, perhaps the Jaguars will start earning some respect, or at the very least no longer feel overlooked? Don’t count on it, Coen says.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever really get it,” he said with a grin that suggests that he hopes not. “It ain’t coming, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s totally fine.”
