JACKSONVILLE – The stage that matters is their own.

Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen made that much clear hours after one of the most dramatic, memorable and high-profile victories in recent franchise history. Coen also said to know this:

If Monday was a statement, the Jaguars made it to themselves.

"We obviously want respect, but that's ours to take," he said.

Coen spoke to the media Monday morning, a day after quarterback Trevor Lawrence's one-yard run with :23 remaining gave the Jaguars a 31-28 victory over the three-time defending AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs at EverBank Stadium.

"Anytime you're able to put consistent performances together and string some wins together, it definitely brings respect," safety Eric Murray said. "We just want to keep playing our brand of football and keep pushing forward."

The Jaguars rallied from deficits of 14 and four points.

"We're willing to fight to the end," Murray said. "The game didn't start out the way we wanted it to, but it ended up in our favor. That comes through perseverance and playing the next play.

"That's the biggest message it sends."

The Jaguars (4-1) won their third consecutive game, with the victory marking their first over the Chiefs since 2009. Kansas City (2-3), which has played in five of the last six Super Bowls, had won the teams' last eight meetings including the postseason.

The Jaguars enter a home game against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday tied for first place with the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South – and tied with the Colts and Buffalo Bills for the best record in the AFC – with Coen emphasizing Monday that "it's about us in this room."

"If you're looking for help, look to the guy next to you," Coen said. "Look to the other guys in this room because it's not going to come elsewhere and we can't leave it up to anybody else. Whether we win, lose, or draw, we've got to take ownership and accountability for it.

"We can't put it in anybody else's hands. Don't look for somebody else to go make a play. Don't look for somebody else to bail you out. Just we got to go take it. And I think that's been something that the players have really voiced and talked about.

"They're the ones out there. And so they do have to go and take what they want in terms of pride and respect."

The victory also marked the Jaguars' first on Monday Night Football since a 12-7 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in 2011.

"You want to be able to play in those moments and have those stages to perform," Coen said. "We're not as concerned about the rest of the league in terms of how they view us.

"You want to have pride in what you do and ultimately I think when you go out and win those type of games, you have pride in what you're doing. Our players right now have confidence.

"There's still a lot to clean up, but there's a lot of confidence in this building right now."

Coen on Tuesday praised Lawrence, with the fifth-year quarterback throwing for a touchdown and running for two more Monday. He led a 60-yard touchdown drive that began with 1:45 remaining, completing passes of 33 yards to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and 13 yards to wide receiver Dyami Brown.

Lawrence's game-winning touchdown came after guard Patrick Mekari stepped on his foot. Lawrence fell twice, then broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage before diving into the end zone.

"We talk about competitive greatness all the time," Coen said. "Competitive greatness is being your best when your best is required regardless of what has happened. In a two-minute drill to go win the game he makes arguably two of his best throws of the game. He willed himself to get into the end zone. I was really proud of the way he competed."

Monday's game also marked the Jaguars' third consecutive victory by a score or less. They were 3-10 in such games in 2024.

"We watch a lot of boxing clips in there," Murray said of the Jaguars' defense. "Everybody looks ugly at the end of a boxing match. Not everybody can look pretty. That attitude is being spread throughout our locker room from the top down.

"You just keep fighting and you never know when the last punch is going to be thrown."

Said Coen, "The toughness, the grit … it's just the way these guys are playing right now. When you play this way, typically good things happen to you. The way our guys are playing in all three phases allows us to go give ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter."

NOTABLE

• Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange and center Robert Hainsey left Monday's game with hip and hamstring injuries. Neither returned, with Coen saying late Tuesday morning he had not yet received updates. Rookie seventh-round selection Jonah Monheim finished the game playing for Hainsey, with Monheim blocking All-Pro tackle Chris Jones on Lawrence's late 33-yard completion to Thomas. "He held his own," Coen said. "He did a nice job. Everybody's got a lot of confidence in Jonah. He's earned it. There really was no flinch. I don't think that there was anything that you could take away that he heard us or wasn't ready for the moment or the stage. He has a lot of respect from the players in this locker room."