3 Most Important Things Jaguars' Liam Coen Said About Week 4's Bengals Matchup

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- After a successful Week 3, the Jacksonville Jaguars have officially turned their focus to the Cincinnati Bengals.

This is a team the Jaguars know well. Jacksonville lost 31-27 in a last-minute heartbreaker in Week 2 of the 2025 season, and it is a team the Jaguars have just not gotten around in recent years.

“We got to make it turn. We got to go win it. I think it's definitely something that when you're going into this game that you think about, you're not sitting there thinking about it every second of the day and all week, but I've thought about it," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said Wednesday.

So, what were the most important things head coach Liam Coen had to say about Week 4 and the Bengals' machup? We break it down below.

The Ja'Marr Chase Message

nfl — Sep 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) makes a catch during the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The biggest challenge for the Jaguars entering Week 3 is the same challenge every team faces when they play the Bengals: Ja'Marr Chase. Coen noted on Wednesday that Chase has a Hall of Fame future, and it is hard to argue with him. Chase has caught 18 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns to open the season, and he has been as dangerous as ever. Chase caught 14 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown the last time he played the Jaguars, the second consecutive time he has recorded 10+ catches and 145+ yards against the Jaguars.

You can talk about any lockdown corner in this league and he's still going to get his. I don't know what he had exactly stat line against Houston, but we all know [Texans CB] Derek Stingley [Jr.] is a really good player and he's going to get his. It's very difficult to say like he's just not going to catch balls this week. For our guys, it's we got to be physical. We obviously have to have a plan in terms of awareness, situational, where is he, where are they going with the football in certain situations, but also tackling him. We have to be at our best with our pursuit angles, our clamp tackling, strain and effort to the football.
Liam Coen

Chase certainly took over the Texans game in Week 2 that Coen is talking about. In the 20-6 Bengals win, Chase caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the difference-maker the Texans could not match without Nico Collins. Chase is going to get big plays seemingly in each game he plays, and the Jaguars and Coen know this as well as anyone. The Jaguars will need to be at their best to topple the Bengals for the first time in the Lawrence era.

The Dexter Lawrence Impact

The biggest addition the Bengals made this offseason was veteran defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who has gotten back to elite form after dealing with injuries during his final season in New York. Lawrence has been dominant at the start of the 2026 season, and he has helped more than just the Bengals' defensive line. The Jaguars picked on the Bengals' linebackers in the passing game in their last matchup, but the addition of Lawrence might make that harder to do.

Yeah, absolutely. You look at the defense last year, you look at it this year through three games and you can see how much more patient their two inside linebackers are because of what's happening in front of them ... You can tell their linebackers are so much more patient. They're not biting quite as hard on play action as maybe they did at times last year. When you have a front disruptor like Dex it makes everybody's job easier. He's essentially handling multiple gaps on his own. It's challenging to back block him. It's challenging to obviously when you get him in a zero nose to one-on-one block him, whether it's on a run or a pass.
Liam Coen

In short, Lawrence is set to be a challenge for more Jaguars than just the interior offensive line. His impact and reach extends far beyond that, and it is one that is set to impact even how the Jaguars plan to pass against the Bengals. The Jaguars struggled against an elite defensive tackle in Week 2 but recovered against a strong interior duo last week against the New England Patriots. Now, they will need to face the NFL's very best.

Chris Rodriguez Jr.'s Momentum

Chris Rodriguez Jr. had far and away his best game as a Jaguar thus far in Week 3 against the New England Patriots. The former Washington Commanders running back had an impressive training camp after becoming the team's lone significant free agency signing, but the first two weeks of the season saw him lag a bit behind Bhayshul Tuten in terms of efficiency and effectiveness on non-short yardage runs. He turned in an impressive performance against the Patriots, though, and he has quickly become a go-to option on third-and-short.

That's him, right? That’s his style. The way he runs, it's awesome, and especially in those situations. I think he was a little frustrated with maybe hitting some things and missing some runs in the first two weeks. I didn't really think we gave him a ton of room in the first two weeks to get going either. I thought we did a better job, when he was in this past week of creating a little bit more room and momentum so that he can get going and get to the second level, which is when he does get his shoulder square and gets downhill. He's typically going to fall forward in a lot of those moments, but we got to help him get going and to get there ... I think he took some confidence from this past game, getting going, getting himself downhill, getting a touchdown always helps. Hopefully we can keep building on that.
Liam Coen

Tuten should be expected to receive the bulk of the workload moving forward just as he has in the first three games of the season, but the Jaguars have hit at least 95 rushing yards in every single game this year largely because they depend on the entire room to contribute in terms of carries. If Rodriguez starts to gain steam as the season goes, he could become the thunder to Tuten's lightning.

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