The Jacksonville Jaguars, under new coach Liam Coen, have earned attention after walloping the Indianapolis Colts for their fourth consecutive victory to retain their one-game lead in the AFC South.
Despite the impressive performance, Coen isn't expecting any flowers.
"I don't know if we'll ever really get [respect]," he said following the 36-19 win, via ESPN. "That's the beauty of it. It ain't coming. You know that. It's not. And that's the beauty of it. And that's totally fine."
Daniel Jones' Achilles injury likely takes some shine off the Jags' thumping. However, it's worth noting that Jacksonville made life difficult on the starting QB before the injury, including a Devin Lloyd interception on the first pass. Given the Jags' history of dominating Indy at home -- 11 consecutive in Duval over the division rival -- it's not a stretch to suggest Coen's club was winning regardless. Still, Riley Leonard taking over made things a little more comfortable for the home squad.
The Jags offense came out firing, scoring 28 first-half points, the team's most since Week 15, 2017 (31 versus Houston). Trevor Lawrence tossed some pinpoint darts, going 17 of 30 for 244 yards and two touchdowns, and he didn't turn the ball over. Brian Thomas Jr. finally entered the chat after being banged up for weeks, snagging a trio of deep shots to add needed field-stretching play to an offense that lacked them for much of the season.
"We all feel like we're a really good team and probably don't get the credit we deserve," Lawrence said. "Everybody talks about every other team -- and even in our own division, it's all these other teams that are going to go win the division and do all these things and nobody really cares about the Jags, which is fine.
"It's kind of just how it is and we'll use it as a chip on our shoulder and keep playing. It doesn't really matter."
The Jaguars forced three turnovers, Josh Hines-Allen earned a sack for a safety, and they held Indy to 285 total yards.
"League-wise, I think to them, we're still the Jags," Hines-Allen said. "They're just waiting for us to slip up. But for us, if we continue to trust our process, trust our grind, and we're going to continue to keep peaking and all the people that are going to say that we're not a good team, we'll see them in the Super Bowl."
Over their four-game win streak, the Jags have blown out the Chargers (35-6), squeaked by the Cardinals (27-24) on the road, blasted the Titans (25-3) and nuked the Colts.
"At the end of the day, I feel like no one likes us except for us," running back Travis Etienne said. "It just goes along with being in this organization and the way this organization has been for some time now. We're not going to get their respect. We kind of don't even care."
Keep stacking wins, and Jacksonville will be able to prove itself in the postseason. Next Gen Stats gives the 9-4 Jaguars a 98% chance of making the playoffs, with a 61% shot at winning the division. Coen's club finishes the season with games against the 3-10 Jets, 11-2 Broncos, 8-5 Colts and 2-11 Titans.
