JACKSONVILLE – Another game, another step forward.

Trevor Lawrence wasn't perfect in the Jaguars’ Week 2 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals – and as Head Coach Liam Coen sees it, perfection isn't the storyline around the fifth-year quarterback. Here's what mattered this past week:

He continued growing – and played well enough to win.

"I'm pleased with where he is – absolutely," Coen said Monday.

Lawrence, after completing 19 of 31 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown with one interception in a Week 1 victory over Carolina, completed 24 of 42 passes for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 31-27 loss to the Bengals.

"I thought he took big steps from last week to this week," Coen said. "He made some unbelievable throws in that game. There are definitely a few he would like to have back, and there are calls I'd like to have back.

"There are plays everybody would like to have back, but I am pleased with where he is in terms of the strides he made from Week 1 to Week 2."

Lawrence on Sunday was intercepted twice, with multiple dropped passes – including one in the fourth quarter in the end zone by wide receiver Dyami Brown and one by Pro Bowl wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. inside the Bengals 5-yard line on fourth-and-5 from the 7-yard line in the final 4 minutes.

Coen on Monday lauded Lawrence's decision-making, how he ran the offense and poise on "critical third-down conversions, especially later in the game."

"He handled a lot of that stuff again from for a second straight week," Coen said.

Coen on Monday, too, laughed off an interaction caught on camera between he and Lawrence on the sidelines Sunday and called fan/media reaction to the exchange a symptom of "this rat poison world we live in."

"It's an emotional game," Coen said. "It's a competitive game. We're all competitive. We're all emotional. I can control mine better and he was just telling me to 'Chill, like, move on.' He wasn't telling me to go screw. He's just saying, 'Dude, move on.'"

Coen added, "I was very pleased with the way he showed something. He got ticked off at times. He had great dialogue with his teammates on the sidelines. He made some huge throws for us in critical moments.

"If anything, I was extremely encouraged with Trevor post-game and we had some great conversations in the locker room, on the plane, [Monday], so all is well when it comes to our relationship."

NOTABLE

• The Jaguars through two games lead the NFL in rushing at 169.5 yards per game and 5.7 yards rushing a carry after ranking 18^th at 4.2 yards per carry and 26^th at 101.7 yards per game in 2024. "It all starts by the way we practice," said rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten, who rushed for 42 yards on 8 carries Sunday.

"The running backs, as a group, we all practice hard on improving in the run game along with the full team. Coach Coen does a great job of calling the runs as much as he does. Just taking the routine plays from practice and going out there and dominating in a big stadium is something that we planned on, and we knew was coming out of training camp. We're not surprised by it."

Added Tuten, "A lot of it is confidence. It's kind of a feel thing but when you when you get the ball rolling, you got the hot hand, the confidence definitely plays a huge part in it."

NOTABLE

• Tuten, a fourth-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, scored his first NFL touchdown Sunday on an 8-yard pass from Lawrence early in the second quarter. He said rookie wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter and Brown caught the football from the play after Tuten threw it in the air. "They brought it to the sideline and gave it to equipment, so I have it."

NOTABLE

• The Jaguars (1-1) will play the Houston Texans (0-2) at EverBank Stadium Sunday, the first time the teams will have played since Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair knocked Lawrence from the game last December 1 with a hit to the head. The NFL suspended Al-Shaair three games, with Lawrence sustaining a concussion and leaving the game. Lawrence did not play again in 2024. "We talked as a team and really just talked about the focus being on us and we need it to be," Coen said.

"We don't have time to waste energy or emotional energy on anything else besides fixing and correcting the issues and mistakes from our game. We've got a huge division opponent this week. Who knows what emotions … I can't speak to that. I can say that these guys, I think they'll come in with the right mindset and mentality this week to come and get this thing right in terms of things we have to get fixed and be ready to go play a tough physical game that we're going to go have to play on Sunday."