Jaguars Curse Has Remained Even in Liam Coen Era

Head Coach Liam Coen has worked wonders on the Jacksonville Jaguars in his first year at the helm. Through 10 weeks, he has the team sitting at 5-4, with a real shot to make the playoffs. However, he'll have to find a way to get his Jaguars to bounce back from a brutal loss in their last outing.

Jacksonville had the opportunity to sweep the Houston Texans in Week 10, but it wasn't able to get the job done. They came into the game slightly favored on the road. At first, they were listed as underdogs, despite their better record coming into the matchup, as well as their head-to-head victory just a few weeks prior.

The line flipped from Texans -1.5 to Jaguars -1.5, though, due to a critical development. Star quarterback C.J. Stroud was ruled out of the contest due to a concussion he suffered in Houston's loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 9. Backup Davis Mills would start in his place. Unfortunately, it didn't matter for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, Houston Texans, Davis Mills — Nov 9, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) looks towards the bench between plays during the second half of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Jaguars lose to another backup quarterback

The Jacksonville Jaguars have lost to two different backup quarterbacks this season. First, they fell to Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals despite holding a lead when Joe Burrow went out with a turf toe injury in Week 2. Then, they lost to Davis Mills and the Houston Texans in this last game.

It's not like their opponents squeaked by with game plans to limit their dependency on the air attack, either. Both Browning and Mills had incredible stat lines against the Jaguars. This is a trend for this franchise that dates back several years, and one that Head Coach Liam Coen has failed to buck this season. Jacksonville media asked him about his team's troubles against understudies this year:

Davis Mills is 6-19 as a starter

3 of those wins are against the Jaguars
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) November 9, 2025

"That's a great question. It's obviously gotten us twice this year in game-winning drive situations where those guys have been able to go the distance. There's definitely a frustration there. Sometimes, as a backup, you go into some of those situations, and what's the worst that can happen? The expectations are what they are. But Davis Mills, he performed, he produced in critical moments that we didn't. And that's got to be a killer instinct mentality of when you got him down to with a backup quarterback and a couple backup O-linemen in there to go and take it."

"Those moments didn't happen for us on Sunday. So, it's frustrating. It's definitely something that you're like, ‘Man, if Joe Burrow would've done it or—,’ that's one thing, but a backup going in there and doing that. I know as a backup quarterback, at one time in my career, you just go and play, and you cut it loose, and there's not a ton of expectations, I guess you could say. But I don't think Davis Mills played like a backup on Sunday."

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