Jaguars Had All the Motivation They Needed to Beat Chargers

The Jacksonville Jaguars weren't supposed to look like this. In Week 10, they dropped to 5-4 on the 2025 NFL season after taking a momentous loss to the Houston Texans. That loss not only hurt the Jaguars' own playoff chances, but it also kept their opponents alive in the race.

The postseason implications were hardly the worst part of the defeat, though. After all, Jacksonville was still in the mix afterwards. However, their pitiful performance against the Texans raised a lot of concerns about whether they could capitalize on their 4-1 start to the campaign and earn a postseason bid.

The Jaguars didn't just lose to the Texans — they did it in truly embarrassing fashion, blowing a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter to backup quarterback Davis Mills. That's the kind of performance that completely tanks a team's perception, a stinker that leaves a stench that usually lingers for weeks on end. Liam Coen and the Jaguars were able to wash the reek off them before Week 11's matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, Los Angeles Chargers, Antonio Johnson — Jacksonville Jaguars safety Antonio Johnson (26) celebrates his interception during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 35-6. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaguars came back with a vengeance

After such a demoralizing loss to the Houston Texans, there was concern that the Jacksonville Jaguars wouldn't be able to bounce back. That defeat marked their third in four weeks. They were able to get a much-needed win coming out of their bye, but it wasn't exactly an inspiring one, as they eked out a one-point victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in overtime.

That game was sandwiched between their devastating loss to the Texans and a 35-7 beatdown from the Los Angeles Rams in London. It wasn't difficult to imagine that the Jaguars would only continue their backslide in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers. However, they bounced back in a huge way, dominating LA 35-6 to reposition themselves as legitimate playoff contenders. Head Coach Liam Coen said he could feel the rage from his guys after the game in Houston:

Dominated all three phases.#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/B33tZe2Zza
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) November 17, 2025

"It was a hard week, man. That was hard, obviously, last Sunday, and when you have that taste in your mouth, and it has to live there all week, and you can only get so much of that taste out of your mouth in practice and going through the game planning and you're going through it. And last night, we just talked about, 'Guys, let's keep this real simple. Let's go out and cut it loose for four quarters, as a team, and see what happens. Let's just go cut it loose, man.'"

"'I don't want to think about what could happen, what should happen, what happened on the play before, what's going to happen three plays from now. Just play in the moment, stay in the moment, pick each other up when something bad happens, and let's move on as a team.' So, yeah, definitely had a good feeling about the way that we would respond, but you never know until, obviously, you get into it."

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