Trevor Lawrence Says Quiet Part Out Loud on Jaguars’ Struggles Under Liam Coen

The Liam Coen era kicked off in full power with the Jaguars’ Week 1 win against the Carolina Panthers. The most interesting part for Jacksonville came in the second quarter, when Foye Oluokun’s interception led to a touchdown. Moreover, a forced punt on the Panthers’ next possession resulted in another score. While the win was encouraging, both Trevor Lawrence and Coach Coen feel that there are still areas that need tightening up.

Lawrence admitted there’s plenty for the Jaguars to clean up after their win. During his conversation at the presser, he admitted, “I thought a couple of times we were getting to the line a little slow and getting a little behind the play clock, and we just need to improve that. That starts with me getting the call in quick, getting the guys up the line of scrimmage, and going—playing with that sense of urgency. There were a couple of those issues, and yeah, just too many penalties in general.”

Despite the struggles, Lawrence appeared positive about the team’s performance and went on to praise them and, most importantly, the defense. “We have to keep getting better, but there’s definitely some stuff we can learn from,” he noted. Now, the penalties are something the team has suffered from for quite a long time.

However, before that, the QB raised the hype. He showed a promising game. Even with the offensive line giving him solid protection, he had to make plays. Despite a rough start, Lawrence found his pace quickly enough, completing 19 of 31 passes for 178 yards, a touchdown, and one interception. He added 12 yards on four carries, including two key scrambles that extended drives. He connected with seven different receivers, showing more faith and confidence in his teammates and in the new system under Coen.

Jacksonville’s defense also elevated its game this year. The Jaguars limited the Carolina Panthers to just 255 total yards and forced three turnovers. This is almost double what they managed in all of 2024. Oluokun led the charge with 10 tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception. “I thought the defensive staff specifically did a great job. (Defensive coordinator Joe) Campanile had some very timely pressure called—in both the run and the pass. To really get three turnovers, should have been a fourth, and two turnovers on downs—that’s damn good defense,” Coen said.

With Lawrence orchestrating the offense and the defense stepping up, the Jaguars showed great potential to be a serious contender this season. However, there are some issues that Coach Coen also pointed out during the pressers, expressing his frustrations.

Liam Coen repeats his words on his frustrations

Coach Coen didn’t hold back when talking about his team’s ongoing penalty problems. “Absolutely not. You know, you’re frustrated with some of the penalties that have continued to bite us in the b— that we did overcome at times, but that’s not something we want to get used to doing by any means. And so when you play teams as we go throughout this thing, we cannot do those things and expect to win,” Coen said.

Penalties were a big issue during Jacksonville’s preseason opener against the Steelers. The Jaguars were flagged eight times, costing them 49 yards. Clearly, this isn’t a new problem for the Jaguars. Coen had addressed the issues even back then and noted that the team must avoid such mistakes. “I think that ultimately it’s something that takes no talent to do. This is something we’ve been preaching for a long time… We cannot start to beat people until we stop beating ourselves,” Coen said.

One instance was in their single possession during the preseason game, the Jaguars were penalized twice, first on a false start by Anton Harrison, and then an illegal block in the back called on Walker Little. Coen’s frustration is understandable as these preventable mistakes can cause serious trouble. He made it clear that these can’t continue if Jacksonville wants to compete in a tough NFL environment. As Lawrence hinted, there’s still a lot for his team to learn, and cleaning up these errors could be the difference between winning and falling behind early in the season.