Why Week 4 Could Be a Turning Point for Jaguars

Through three weeks, the Jacksonville Jaguars have shown a lot of promise. After downing the Houston Texans at EverBank Stadium, Head Coach Liam Coen has led his team to a 2-1 start in his first season at the helm. In the process, they've shown significant strides on both sides of the ball compared to last year.

The defense has been especially impressive. Ahead of Monday night's clash between the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions, the Jaguars rank 10th in yards allowed and fifth in points.

What's conflicting is that Jacksonville could be even better. They barely lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, falling to a game-winning drive at the hands of backup quarterback Jake Browning amid a slew of missed opportunities and backbreaking mistakes. Sloppy play and penalties have kept the Jaguars from reaching their offensive potential in Coen's system.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, Head Coach Liam Coen, Houston Texans — Sep 21, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen reads a play during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | Travis Register-Imagn Images

Jaguars are looking forward to Week 4

Between a glaring issue with drops among the Jacksonville Jaguars' wide receivers and some inconsistency from quarterback Trevor Lawrence, this team hasn't hit its offensive ceiling. And yet, they're still checking in at eighth in yards earned. Turnovers and penalties have kept them from fully capitalizing on their drives, though, as they rank just 14th in scoring and tie for 19th in red zone touchdown rate at 50 percent.

Head Coach Liam Coen isn't fazed by the mixed results he's seen so far, though. Jacksonville media asked him when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense really got rolling last year when he was their offensive coordinator:

"It was after Week 4, really. It was after Week 4. I don't even know if we hit 100 yards rushing prior to Week 4 in Tampa last year. So, might have had 100 Week 1, maybe around there, but it took a little while. You're ultimately just trying to see who you are, what are we best at? Is it the zone, is it the gap? Is it mid zone, tight zone, wide zone, whatever it is, and what are our backs best at, right? So much of it comes down to the personnel, what we're good at doing, and some of it this past week we did some different things in terms of our inside zone versus mid zone."

Travis Etienne: Rush Yards Over Expected

2025: +69📈
2024: -43
2023: -77
2022: +234 (2nd among RBs)

Data: NextGenStats
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— Daniel Griffis (@DanDGriffis) September 10, 2025

"We're good at mid zone, so we should have just run it and said, stop us. So that's what we leaned on more in the second half, which helped us. So yeah, that was what [Travis Etienne Jr.] literally just said to me, as we were walking in the dining hall, was I was just expressing frustration in myself, getting away from a few things that we do well, which they also gave us some unscouted looks and played more bare fronts and five-down fronts, but it's like, 'Man, we're good at this, so let's do what we're good at.'”

The Jaguars are actually ahead of schedule for a young team playing in a brand-new system, led by a head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator all holding their respective positions for the first time in their NFL careers. It's only natural that Jacksonville takes a bit to iron things out. They'll look to take some demonstrative steps forward in Week 4's clash with the San Francisco 49ers.

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