The first cracks have started showing in Liam Coen’s Jaguars in Year 2. Or did they just surface again from 2025?
Jacksonville’s pass rush struggles were hard to watch this Sunday vs. the Broncos. They couldn’t manage to sack Bo Nix once. They did hit him, though, only three times, including just once in the fourth quarter (by edge rusher Travon Walker).
ESPN’s Michael DiRocco felt the Jaguars’ inability to create pressure on the Broncos, especially late in the game, was one of the primary reasons they lost in Week 2.
It took him right back to last season’s AFC wildcard round.
Jaguars Pass Rush Problems Haunting Them Since 2025
“Sunday’s scenario was like the AFC wild-card playoff loss to the Bills in January,” DiRocco writes. “The Jaguars sacked Josh Allen once and hit him three times — none of which came in the fourth quarter. Allen drove the Bills to two touchdowns to erase the Jaguars’ fourth-quarter leads.”
It’s like deja vu all over again, the same old tape playing on repeat.
Jacksonville gets comfortable on the road, builds a solid cushion, and then completely flatlines when the game gets tight in the second half.
Just like that January wild-card exit in Buffalo, the pass rush completely vanished when it mattered most. Sacking the opposing quarterback once and generating zero heat in the fourth quarter left the secondary stranded on an island, giving them all day to pick apart a gassed defense.
“A tough way to end the season, obviously,” Coen said post-Bills loss. “He definitely carried them,” he added about Allen.
“We have to move on and respond; that’s what it really comes down to,” Coen said after Sunday’s loss to the Broncos.
Liam Coen Knows Where the Problem Lies
Jaguars repeating the same pattern from January early in the season can actually be a good thing for the Jags.
“It’s the NFL; you’re not going to win every game. And what you can take from it is, ‘Where can we get better? Where can we improve the plan? Where can we improve as individuals? Where can we improve our play style and our effort and our finish, those things?'” Coen said, pointing out their plan moving forward.
They already know the problem now. They just need to fix it before it’s too late.
115 yards of total offense in the second half won’t win a backyard game, let alone an NFL regular-season game.
After their Week 1 win over the Cleveland Browns, Coen’s Year 2 squad was already getting national buzz for being a solid playoff contender.
Trevor Lawrence is playing well. He has the best chemistry in years with his receivers. The backfield looks stocked up with the right guys who can build the tempo.
They only need to find a way to maintain that rhythm when the fourth quarter rolls around and stop letting winnable games slip through their fingers.
“I think that it was good for this to happen,” cornerback Jarrion Jones said, according to Jaguars.com, following Sunday’s loss. “Now we have to hone in on us. It’s all about us, and if we execute and commit to our play style and things we do, it’s going to be hard to beat us. I think it was good we had a wake-up call like this.”
Jaguars’ Loss to Broncos Brings Back Ugly Memories of AFC Wildcard Playoff Loss vs. Bills