T
he Jacksonville Jaguars are moving on from week two. Hitting the road to play the Cincinnati Bengals, the Jaguars were unable to come away with the win, losing 31-27 despite the Bengals losing starting quarterback Joe Burrow to injury. Failing to improve to 2-0, the Jaguars instead fall to 1-1 and are hungrier than ever to bounce back.
But the story of the Jaguars’ loss is not the actual performance of the team– but instead a peculiar interaction that happened between head coach Liam Coen and quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Now, Coen is addressing the incident and is brushing it off as nothing more than competitiveness.
The Interaction
With less than five minutes to go in the final quarter, and the Jaguars up 27-24, Lawrence threw a second and 14 pass to Dyami Brown and instead of completing it, Lawrence threw it too high for Brown to haul in. After the play, the camera panned to Coen, who was yelling animatedly to Lawrence– in what looked to be a heated exchange. But Coen insists that it was not personal and was instead just two guys who wanted badly to win that game.
“That was just one throw, I was pissed,” Coen said. “It is what it is. That’s emotion. It’s not personal ever. That’s just kind of me getting worked up.”
For the day, Lawrence completed 24 out of 42 of his pass attempts for 271 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions and improved drastically from week one– where he threw for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Now, Lawrence and the Jaguars will look to bounce back in week three when they return home to face the Houston Texans.
Lawrence and Coen’s Relationship in Year One
Lawrence is in his fifth NFL season and despite being a cornerstone piece for the Jaguars, he has struggled to find consistent success given the constant turnover of coaches that he has experienced throughout his career. Under Coen, Lawrence is looking to regain the form he had during his 2022 Pro Bowl season and guide the Jags back to the playoffs. Since Coen became the coach, Lawrence has praised what he has brought to the team and acknowledges that his new coach has pushed him to the max.
“He’s honestly brought a little bit more of that out of me,” Lawrence said.
After addressing the exchange, Coen was quick to praise Lawrence’s competitiveness and how vital it is to the team.
“He threw a dime in the back of the end zone, and we don’t make the play,” Coen said. “I was very pleased with his competitive nature and the way he stayed calm on the sidelines. He’s pretty even-keeled, which is good for me. I need that.”
The Jaguars week three matchup against the Texans is set for Sunday, Sept. 21 with kickoff at 1 p.m. (ET).
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