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Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence Must Continue to Develop Connection
Sep 21, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) shake hands after the game at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars made some loud statements in their Monday Night Football win over the Kansas City Chiefs. They announced to the nation that they can compete with anyone, and even upset Patrick Mahomes and the reigning AFC champions. They proved that they can win through multiple avenues, with their defense stepping back and letting their offense lead the way this time.

They also showed that Trevor Lawrence can be the elite quarterback they wanted when they took him with the first-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was able to keep pace with a two-time MVP and three-time champion, tallying 275 total yards on 72 percent completions, with three touchdowns to one turnover.

He also marched the Jaguars down 60 yards in seven plays and found the end zone for the game-winning score on a highly unlikely, unprecedented, and impractical scramble. Still, Lawrence was far from perfect against the Chiefs.

Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence have some housekeeping to do

The Jacksonville Jaguars finally got the breakthrough in the passing game they were hoping for in Week 5's win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Lawrence was efficient and decisive, making several key plays with both his arm and his legs. He was able to get both Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter Jr. involved in some critical moments.

However, he made some brutal mistakes, too. His lone interception came on a no-call for a defensive pass interference that knocked out his intended target, Parker Washington. He had another throw that should have been picked off but was instead bobbled and dropped by two different Chiefs defenders, though.

Most of his errors were mental, though, including his second illegal forward pass on the season, and a crushing delay of game penalty that moved the Jaguars back from Kansas City's 11-yard line to a 2nd-and-16 on their final drive. Thankfully, he was able to overcome it, but that slip-up could have cost Jacksonville the win. Head Coach Liam Coen spoke on how he and Lawrence have to continue to communicate and clean up those procedural issues:

"You're more so just trying to talk a little bit situational or ‘Hey, thinking maybe four downs here, just being smart with this decision’. If I am calling a pass play, two-minute type situational stuff like, ‘Hey bud, remember we’ve got two timeouts,’ during that whole sequence, or ‘Hey, we’ve got one timeout or we’ve got no timeouts, and this is where the ball — hey, we’ve got to get the ball out of bounds here, can't take a sack here.’"

"Just little notes like that that you're trying to give any quarterback throughout, but also trying not to take away from him maybe not hearing something of the play call. So, that dialogue continues to grow, and you ultimately find out throughout a game, well, I don't have to say much to him at all in these moments, because we've already done this or we've gotten to this place where we've had this conversation. That's kind of how that dynamic works.”


This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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