JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser, senior correspondent Brian Sexton and team reporter Kainani Stevens offer quick thoughts on the Jaguars as they enter a Week 8 bye.

John Oehser, Jaguars Senior Writer…

1. Not the time for panic. Here's one reality: The Jaguars have lost two consecutive games for the first time under Liam Coen, and they looked really bad at times in a 35-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium this past Sunday. But a second reality is just as true and that's that the Jaguars are 4-3 through seven games with three "quality victories" over teams with winning records, including victories over the perennially strong San Francisco 49ers and the three-time defending AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs. The thought here before the season was the Jaguars were probably a seven-to-nine victory team with a chance to get to 10 victories if they were healthy and a lot went right. The thought here was also that the Jaguars somewhere during the season would sustain two or three one-sided losses because teams adjusting to new regimes usually have a few "ugh" games. Sunday undoubtedly was an "ugh" game, but the Jaguars very much have a chance to win nine or 10 games and compete for the postseason. To do so, they must get back to their early-season identity and they must get and stay healthy. They also need to catch very catchable passes more consistently. Those aren't incredibly big asks. Either way, there's no reason to give up on this season. This is what contending for the postseason looks like – some downs a long the way to go with the ups. On to the second half.
2. Clean it up. If the penalties and avoidable errors that have been a season-long for the Jaguars aren't a full-blown crisis, they have grown into enough of a concern that they're threatening to define the season. Head Coach Liam Coen addressed it as such in his lone media availability of the week, saying repeatedly that the Jaguars must clean up this area and perhaps summarizing his thoughts on the matter when he said, "We are a really good football team, but not when we hurt ourselves." This issue was on full display in a loss to the Rams Sunday, when repeated early Jaguars mistakes produced repeated bad down-and-distance situations that led to punts on their first three possessions. The cleaner-playing Rams by contrast faced third-and-long just once on their first four possessions. They punted on that possession and scored touchdowns on the other three to take a 21-0 lead. Coen's right that the Jaguars are good. They're 4-3 for a reason. If they can't reduce the avoidable errors, they won't get a chance to show it.

Brian Sexton, Senior Correspondent…

1. Losing two in a row before the bye is less than ideal. It really stunted the momentum that was building in Jacksonville for the new football administration. But if you look at the first half of the season in it's totality you see that Liam Coen, James Gladstone and Tony Boselli have taken a big bite of the apple that was on the table in front of them in February. The 4-1 start, winning in San Francisco and on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs, 14 takeaways in seven games after only 9 in 17 games a season ago and a different vibe in the building all point to a turnaround, though after those losses to the Seahawks and Rams it's fair to say they're not as far along as they looked on October 6th. Ten games remain for them to tell the story of their first season on the job and it says here they'll be in a dogfight with the Colts in December to decide the AFC South. The Jaguars are in good hands with the new leadership team.
2. If they can get the quarterback to his next level of performance the playoffs come into play. Trevor Lawrence has been fairly good, but nowhere near great, and he's certainly at a level good enough to have a winning record. But in taking a sack on the first play of each of the last two games he shows a frustrating pace of improvement for the guy selected No. 1 overall almost five years ago. If Coen can unlock the promise of Lawrence the winning could go on for quite some time and to be fair the quarterback is on his third head coach and third offense in less than five seasons. I'd like to take the long view with Lawrence, after all, he's just turned 26 and his contract dictates he'll be on the roster until 2028 at the very least...but it's tough to see young guys like Washington's Jayden Daniels and Denver's Bo Nix succeed at a faster pace and remain patient.

Kainani Stevens, Jaguars Team Reporter/Producer ...

1. Time to rest up and recharge. The bye week for the Jaguars comes with a mandatory four player days off and it comes at a good time for a few important players dealing with injuries. Linebacker Devin Lloyd did not travel to London for last week's game against the Rams because of a calf strain. Head coach Liam Coen indicated they'll be taking it slow with Lloyd's rehab process and the bye week will help them in that regard. Edge rusher Travon Walker has played the last two weeks with a large cast on his surgically repaired wrist, but he has played limited snaps as he works his way back to full strength. Also, tight end Brenton Strange will benefit from the extra week of recovery as he was placed on Injured Reserve a few weeks ago with a hip injury. Strange's presence has been missed in every facet of the offense and he can't get back soon enough.

2. Bounce back game incoming. After a blowout loss to the Rams in London, the feeling was very reminiscent of some painful losses the Jaguars suffered last season. Unlike lastyear thatthe negative performance will not linger. The buy-in under new head coach Liam Coen continues, and the focus remains on self-reflection and playing clean football. Coen admitted during his media availability this week that they won't be reinventing the wheel. It's important to remember despite the last two weeks the new Jaguars regime has been impressive and resilient. Heading into the bye week with a 4-3 record is more than I had hoped for at this point in the season and I'm going to take the week away from football to remind myself of that.