The Big Picture: Surging Jaguars Deserve Respect, But Would Rather Stay Overlooked

EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville) — As the second-most-improved team in the NFL this year, sitting alone atop their division with a first-year coach, the Jaguars deserve respect on a national level.

They're really fine without it.

"I don't know if we'll ever really get it. That's the beauty of it. It ain't coming," Jaguars coach Liam Coen told reporters after a convincing 36-19 win over the Colts on a rainy Sunday afternoon. "You know that. It's not. And that's the beauty of it. And that's totally fine. 

"Very proud of these guys, getting to nine wins, but a lot of work to be done."

The Jaguars, 4-13 a year ago, are now 9-4, and the AFC South is suddenly theirs to lose. Their recent surge, winning four in a row and five of six, has coincided with a midseason collapse for the Colts, who lost quarterback Daniel Jones for the season due to an Achilles tear in Sunday's loss. The Jaguars still have the Jets and Titans in their remaining games, so they're a safe bet to host a playoff game and challenge the Patriots as the league's most improved team.

But from a motivational standpoint, they'd just as rather remain underappreciated.

"We know that it doesn't matter what anybody says on the outside. You use all that as fuel," quarterback Trevor Lawrence told reporters. "I think we all feel like we're a really good team and probably don't get the credit we deserve, and everybody talks about the other teams. Even in our own division, it’s all these other teams that are going to go win the division and do all these other things. Nobody really cares about the Jags, which is fine. That's kind of how it is. We'll use it as a chip on our shoulder and keep playing."

The 10-win season coming their way? The Jaguars have just one in the last 18 seasons — the least out of 32 NFL franchises, with even the Jets, Browns, Raiders and Commanders having at least two. So this success will mean more to Jacksonville, perhaps best known in recent years for playing a home game or two in London every season.

And the Jaguars are a vastly improved team in 2025 under Coen, 40, and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, 43, both in their first years in their roles at this level. Jacksonville was last in the NFL in takeaways, with nine total last year; the Jaguars are tied for second-most in the league with 23, including three in Sunday's win. They ranked 26th in scoring offense and 28th in scoring defense last year, and now they're ninth and 10th, respectively.

The Jaguars are a sum-greater-than-the-parts team. They have done this, all while getting barely any contributions from the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, Travis Hunter, lost to a season-ending injury six weeks ago with just a single touchdown on offense and 15 tackles on defense. Last year's rookie star, receiver Brian Thomas Jr., went from 10 touchdowns and a Pro Bowl nod to one touchdown this season.

Lawrence, who threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's win, has been unremarkable, ranking 29th out of 34 qualifying quarterbacks in passer rating, and isn't in the top 10 in yards or touchdowns. And yet they the Jaguars have beaten the 49ers, Chargers, Texans and Chiefs, among others, their only questionable loss coming in Week 2 to the Joe Burrow-led Bengals.

Taking control of the AFC South as they did with Sunday's win will elevate the Jaguars, now seen as a playoff team that shouldn't be underestimated. Three years ago, they made the playoffs at 9-8, beat the Chargers in the wild-card round and trailed the Chiefs by three in the fourth quarter at Arrowhead, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champions.

Again, Coen doesn't necessarily see a benefit in the NFL recognizing their success.

"I don't think it helps. I've heard the rat poison before," he said. "Everybody loves you when you're doing it well, and then you're always going to find something. That's the competitive advantage that you have. Every player has to get themselves into a place, right? You always hear the stories about Jordan and how he would create things to get himself into a place to go compete. Our guys just keep finding ways to get a little bit pissed off and go play their tails off and execute, though, at a higher level."

There are other first-year coaches making a splash all over the NFL, with Coen's success still sitting in the shadow of what Mike Vrabel has done with the Patriots at 11-2 and what Ben Johnson is doing with the Bears at the same 9-4 record he has. They don't mind that at all.

"At the end of the day, I feel like no one likes us except for us," running back Travis Etienne, who is 10th in the league in rushing after posting 74 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, said at the podium. "I feel like it just goes along with just being in this organization, what the organization has been for quite some time. We're not going to get the respect. We kind of don't even care. As long as we know what we've got inside the locker room, and we can go out there and take it. It's no better feeling that being disrespected and having an extra chip on your shoulder, playing with an extra edge. It gives extra motivation each and every Sunday. 

"We kind of know what it is. I've been here, it's my fifth year. It's been the same song. No one's going to paint us to be the person to win it all. We've got to go out and take it. I love that. Coach Coen plays into that and gives us that edge. He's a great motivator. That's why we go out each and every Sunday and have the extra edge."

The Jaguars believed in themselves enough to upgrade at the trade deadline, giving up a fourth and sixth-round pick to the Raiders for receiver Jakobi Meyers. He's played only five games with Jacksonville, but already is tied for the team lead with three touchdown catches, including one on Sunday. Their young defense continues to play with confidence, not unlike the 2017 Jaguars, who rode their defense to the AFC Championship Game when they hadn't made the playoffs in 10 years. 

The Jaguars embrace being ignored, knowing it makes it a little easier to surprise people on a much larger level down the road.

"I think that league-wise, I think, to them, we’re still the Jags," edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen, who has had at least one sack in four straight games, told reporters. "They’re just waiting for us to slip up, but, for us, if we continue to trust that 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 you in the Super Bowl."

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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