Big Cat Country
The Jaguars 1-1 with fresh wounds. The first loss of Liam Coen’s head coaching was ugly, disappointing, and far too familiar — Jake Browning beat the Jags for the second time in 650 days.
Next up is a 0-2 Texans squad that will surely put up a fight in the divisional bout.
As Week 3 approaches, we rounded up the latest NFL power rankings to get a sense of how the Jaguars are viewed nationally.
Losing to the Bengals the way they did will sting for a while. They had no business losing that game against a backup quarterback. They have to get Brian Thomas Jr. out of his funk.
The second week of the grand Travis Hunter Experiment included three catches and a killer pass interference infraction on defense that sustained Cincinnati’s game-winning drive. Not trying to pick on the rookie, but other teams clearly will in the time being.
From Josh Kendall and Chad Graff:
Maybe this is going too far, especially after a loss, but we are here today to overreact. While Johnson has yet to get the Bears going, Coen’s new team leads the league in rushing EPA (0.17 per carry), and Travis Etienne leads the league with 214 rushing yards. This is the same player who had 558 rushing yards in 15 games last season. Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr. don’t seem to be getting along, but this team can run the ball.
Trevor Lawrence’s awful interception in the end zone was something a rookie in his first game shouldn’t do. Head coach Liam Coen already seems frustrated with Lawrence’s inaccuracy. Sunday was a really bad loss, and not just because the Jaguars couldn’t close out the Joe Burrow-less Bengals.
Trevor Lawrence wasn’t perfect Sunday, missing some throws, but he battled all game, even with two interceptions. Liam Coen’s reaction to one Lawrence overthrow late in the game (and Lawrence waving Coen off) caught some social media fire, but both men tried to downplay it Monday morning. Coen’s decision to go for it, up three deep in Cincinnati territory, can be questioned, but I think he made the right call. Brian Thomas Jr., however, has been disappointing through two games, dropping Lawrence’s fourth-down pass and now has only five receptions this season on 19 targets. Coen said Monday that Thomas was dealing with a wrist injury, which might explain why he didn’t come down with plays he typically makes. Thomas and Lawrence still have work to do, ironing out their connection, as Coen and Lawrence might, as well. Both relationships are crucial to the team’s success, and the Jags suddenly have some issues after letting a 2-0 record slip through their fingers Sunday.
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