JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars on Wednesday practiced at the Miller Electric Center.
The Jaguars (2-1) will play the San Francisco 49ers (3-0) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday in a 2025 Week 4 game. A look at Wednesday around the Jaguars – with Head Coach Liam Coen speaking to the media before practice and quarterback Trevor Lawrence among players speaking following practice:
Lawrence's development in – and grasp of – Coen's offense has been a major storyline in Coen's first season with the organization, with Lawrence on Wednesday saying he likes his progress in the area after three games.
"Every week it's growing a little bit more and more," he said.
Lawrence, in his fifth season as the Jaguars' starter, spent much of the offseason working on footwork and fundamentals specific to Coen's offense. He also is working without offensive plays on an arm band in games for the first time in his career.
Coen has praised Lawrence's operation of the offense and approach off the field often throughout the preseason and regular season, and did so again this week.
"I feel really good operating it," said Lawrence, who has completed 63 of 113 passes for 671 yards and 4 touchdowns with four interceptions this season. "I'm seeing it really clearly. When I step on the field on Sundays, I have a really great grasp of what we're doing, what we're trying to get done, what I'm looking for, all my keys I'm looking for.
"I'm seeing everything great. I just have to eliminate some of the bad plays. I've had one or two a game that are hurting us as far as turnovers. I have to find a way to eliminate those. It's continuing to play smart ball. As far as seeing it and operating, I feel good."
Drops also remained a topic at the MEC Wednesday, with the issue helping define the Jaguars' offense in recent weeks.
The Jaguars according to Pro Football Reference lead the NFL with 14 dropped passes through three games, with wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and Parker Washington both dropping multiple passes in a 17-10 victory over the Houston Texans at EverBank Stadium this past Sunday.
"We've got to attack the ball more with our hands, instead of letting it maybe get into the body at times," Coen said. "We always talk about not trying to let the ball cross our eyes."
Drops by Thomas and wide receiver Dyami Brown were key plays in a 31-27 Week 2 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Coen said the issue is a priority in practice, with receivers getting an extra catch opportunity between non-throwing repetitions.
"If they're jogging back from a run play, they're getting a ball," Coen said. "We're trying to do as much as we can in order to just continue to build confidence that we can go out and make those plays. We need to go out and make those plays for our offense to be able to go where it needs to go."
Coen on Wednesday for the second time in three days emphasized his support of Washington, a third-year receiver who led the team with 5 receptions for 76 yards against the Bengals.
"I have not lost any confidence in Parker by any means; stuff happens," Coen said of Washington, who caught 4 passes for 34 yards against the Texans in addition to the 2 drops. "It's not obviously something that we're excited about in the moment, but he takes a lot of responsibility and accountability. He works his tail off every single day.
"He literally had his best week of practice last week as a Jag since we've been here. So, there's a lot of confidence. The message to him is, 'Dude, like we got to just move forward, you're putting some really good stuff on tape, you're practicing, you're doing all the right things. Those things will come and hopefully that was just a one off.'"
