JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars on Wednesday practiced at the Miller Electric Center.
The AFC South champion Jaguars (13-4) will play the Buffalo Bills (12-5) at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville Sunday in a 2025 AFC Wild Card Playoff game. A look at Wednesday around the Jaguars – with Head Coach Liam Coen speaking to the media before practice and quarterback Trevor Lawrence speaking to the media after practice:
The Jaguars on Wednesday issued the first of three injury reports for the week, with starting left tackle Cole Van Lanen missing practice with a knee injury sustained in a Week 18 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Starting nickel corner Jarrian Jones missed practice with an illness.
Starting right guard Patrick Mekari, who missed the last two regular-season games with a back injury, returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday. Walker Little, who started at left tackle the first 12 games of the season, started for Mekari the last two games.
Three other Jaguars players also practiced limited Wednesday: Rookie defensive end Danny Striggow (elbow/ankle), starting cornerback Greg Newsome II (shoulder) and starting cornerback Montaric Brown (neck).
The Jaguars' 13 victories this season matched their total from the last two seasons combined, and Lawrence set a franchise record with 38 touchdowns – 29 passing and nine rushing.
The best part about the season to Lawrence has been the camaraderie around a locker room that he said has a true "family feel."
"Winning's fun," he said. "We're having a lot of fun and I think just the way we're doing it, the way we're playing with confidence and feeding off one another and the team is really close. That's usually what makes the team good, is that tight-knit, the family feel and the relationships with each other and the staff and the players and all those things.
"We have all that, so winning's fun and we've just got to keep winning because it gets more and more fun. That's the coolest thing is just the relationship part of it and seeing guys have success and our team have success and just feeding off that. It has been awesome."
A key in the Jaguars' preparation this week isn't on the active roster.
That key: Practice-squad quarterback Carter Bradley, who is working with the "scout-"team offense and assigned the task of mimicking Bills All-Pro quarterback Josh Allen as closely as possible.
That means working outside the pocket, running and making the sort of "off-script" plays that have made Allen – the 2024 NFL MVP – one of the NFL's most difficult-to-defend players for the last half decade.
"Carter's got a big arm," Coen said of Bradley, the son of former Jaguars Head Coach and longtime NFL assistant Gus Bradley. "That ball can go anywhere on the field in some ways. It's a great representation of there'll be examples of throwing on time and in rhythm and practice. There also will be some examples of, 'Hey, Carter, hang on to this one, move around, find some lanes, run around and try to try to throw it somewhere down the field.'
"Just trying to give those guys as realistic of a look as you can. Carter can do some of those things and be able to create a little bit off schedule."
Allen threw 25 touchdown passes with 15 rushing touchdowns this season, rushing for 46 first downs. The Bills' 44.8 third-down conversion rate ranks fourth in the NFL.
"We all know who he is," Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said. "He's one of those guys who can make plays in the air and on his feet. We just have to be dialed in on that. At the end of the day, it's about us. Our mindset is based on us."
Coen called the "ultimate strain" on opposing defenses.
"You're a dual threat," Coen said. "You have to defend the run and the pass every time the ball is snapped. It's not as if you can just tee off on a guy like that knowing, 'Well, he can't really move, so you can just go play two man or go do these things.'
"Your rush plan has to be extremely dialed in. Your spy game has to be dialed in if you're going to do any of that stuff. Your zone coverage has got to make sure that you're giving eyes obviously on the quarterback at all times."
The Jaguars worked comparatively light with a "walk-through" practice Wednesday, with Coen calling whether they will practice in pads Thursday "TBD." The NFL limits padded practices late in the regular season, but teams can practice in pads once a week in the postseason.
"Normal Thursday practice," Coen said. "That will be our potential pads day. We're just going to kind of see how things go [Wednesday] and where we are."
