Jacksonville has spent the first six weeks of the season learning a tough lesson: sometimes the whistle becomes part of the story.
The Jaguars are 4-2, but that record has come with a pile of frustration. Since Week 3, five touchdowns have been wiped out by penalties, and the latest example came in Week 6 against the Houston Texans when Bhayshul Tuten’s touchdown was erased by what the team viewed as a phantom hold. Not long after, Trevor Lawrence threw a red-zone interception, Jacksonville came away empty on the drive, and the Jaguars eventually fell 34-31 on a walk-off field goal.
With the league’s officiating again under the microscope after the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Detroit Lions, the Jaguars’ penalty problems have landed back in the spotlight too. Head coach Liam Coen’s answer is blunt and simple: don’t give officials anything to decide.
“Leave no doubt is really what it comes down to. Play above it, leave no doubt," Coen said Monday when asked what he tells his locker room about the recent penalty issues.
That’s the easy part to say. The hard part is living it out when calls keep swinging against you.
Still, Coen’s point is that the Jaguars can’t let outside noise drag them off their standard. The flags have played a huge role in why Jacksonville is sitting at 4-2 instead of 5-1, and outside of the Packers, no team has been hit harder by judgment calls from officials.
“Fundamentals, and you guys hear me say it ad nauseam, but regardless of results, right, the fundamentals and techniques in which we coach, teach… We’ve got to continue to detail those even when fatigue sets in and whether it's mental or physical fatigue that sets in, we have got to be at our best in terms of detail, fundamentally sharp, disciplined in order to leave no doubt that we control our destiny,” Coen said.
“We control the outcomes of games at the end of the day in terms of win or lose, and we can live with those results. You just can't go there.
It's hard not to. It's human instinct and nature to do so, but it really doesn't do anybody any good to go down that path.
Trust me, I've been there.”
There’s not much Jacksonville can do about the touchdowns that got wiped away, whether it was Tuten’s score against Houston, Josh Cameron’s negated kickoff return against the Eagles, Travis Hunter’s negated interception against the Bengals, or the questionable pass interference calls against the Texans. Those calls are done. The response has to come now, starting with Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts.
The officiating issues are a major reason the Jaguars lost in London, but they were not the only reason. Jacksonville also left plenty on the field with its own mistakes, and that has been part of the message from Coen and his staff.
“We got to be on our P's and Q's, and that just makes us better football players," Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis said on Monday.
“And I think that's what kept me in the league a long time, is just understanding how to adapt to different styles of how the game is being played and called just understanding the rules, because at the end of the day we got to go out there and play. Regardless of how it's being officiated or things are being called, we got to be out there and give it our all and play our best.”
In Other News...
Falcons Suddenly Have A Trade Rumor Fans Can't Ignore
Brian Thomas Jr. has quickly become one of the more intriguing names to watch around the Jaguars, even though Jacksonville is not actively shopping the 2024 first-round pick. His absence from the second half of a recent game was enough to set off plenty of speculation, and it has only sharpened outside interest in what the team might do if the right offer came along.
From the Jaguars perspective, this is less about a confirmed move than about a player whose value is obvious enough to draw attention from around the league. The Chiefs, 49ers and Falcons are all viewed as teams that could use help at wide receiver, which is why Thomas name is floating into so many conversations. For now, though, the bigger question is whether Jacksonville would ever be tempted to turn that buzz into something real. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Mock Draft Points To Roster Needs Fans Can Already See
At 4-2, the Jaguars have put themselves in the kind of position where the present matters far more than the draft calendar, but the latest look at a Pro Football Focus simulator still points to the same broad truth: there are roster needs this team can already see. Coming off a recent loss, Jacksonvilles attention naturally stays on the next game, yet mock-draft chatter keeps circling back to the idea that future upgrades could come from the college ranks if the Jaguars stay in the market for talent at key spots.
The projections floated a handful of names, including Benefield, Lubin, Becker and Luckie, each with a different scouting profile attached to him. None of it amounts to a decision, of course, and that is part of the appeal for fans tracking these exercises - they offer a rough outline of what kinds of players might fit if Jacksonville keeps building around the current core, even if the actual draft road still sits well off in the distance. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Keep Getting Linked To A Trade Rival Fans Know Wont Be Easy
The Colts have started making some big moves, and that has naturally put DeForest Buckner back into the rumor mill. For Jacksonville, the fit is obvious enough to understand why the name keeps coming up, since Buckner would give the Jaguars a proven interior presence on a defense that could use one.
Still, this is the kind of trade that feels more theoretical than realistic for a team in the AFC South. The history between these franchises makes a deal harder to picture, and Indianapolis has shown little reason to help a division rival, even if Buckner is one of the most attractive names available. If he moves, the safer landing spots may be elsewhere, with teams like the 49ers or Bears making more sense than a swap across the rivalry line. [Read more 🡒]