JACKSONVILLE – They're confident, and with reason.

But if there's an idea that the Jaguars suddenly will be overconfident because they're now alone in first place – or that they suddenly will lose an edge because they're contending …

Well … if that's the idea, it's a bad idea.

"We're not in a position to act like that," Liam Coen said.

Coen, the Jaguars' first-year head coach, spoke to the media Monday – a day after the Jaguars moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC South with a 36-19 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville. Respect and collective "chips on shoulders," post-game themes on Sunday, remained storylines Monday.

How hard will it be to maintain the chip?

"It's easy, man," Coen said, smiling.

The Jaguars, winners of 4 consecutive games and 5 of the last 6, lead the AFC South by 1 game over both the Colts (8-5) and Houston Texans (8-5). The Texans beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-10, Sunday night.

The Jaguars play host to the New York Jets (3-10) Sunday, with the Cots visiting the Seattle Seahawks (10-3) Sunday and the Texans playing host to the Arizona Cardinals (3-10).

"At the end of the day, we have to handle our business these last few games," Jaguars cornerback Greg Newsome II said. "We've been doing a great job. We have the Jets this week. We have to find a way to keep getting wins and keep that momentum going into the playoffs."

Coen, speaking at his weekly next-day press conference at the Miller Electric Center Monday, lauded the play and confidence Sunday of quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He also noted that while the Jaguars ran effectively at times Sunday, an offense that has improved steadily in recent weeks also "left a lot of meat on the bone" in that area.

"We're in a process of just trying to improve, get better each day," Coen said.

The Jaguars on Sunday outgained the Colts 350-285, with Lawrence throwing 2 first-half touchdown passes and running back Travis Etienne Jr. rushing for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns, with both of Etienne's touchdowns also in the first half. The Jaguars held Colts running back Jonathan Taylor – the NFL's leading rusher – to 74 yards and 1 touchdown, with the Jaguars No 1-ranked rush defense not yet allowing a 100-yard rusher this season.

The Jaguars on Sunday took leads of 14-7 after a quarter and 28-10 at halftime, registering their third victory in 4 games by at least 17 points since a Week 10 loss to the Texans in which the Jaguars squandered a 19-point fourth-quarter lead.

"We know what happens when we let the foot off a little bit," Coen said. "We've seen what that looks like. When you learn from those moments and those times in games, it's our job to hold that standard to not let ourselves get to that position. Are we going to play perfectly every single snap in every single game?

"Probably not, but if we can have the right mindset and mentality for 60 minutes and four quarters, I feel a lot better about that."

And while "respect" wasn't the only topic Coen discussed with the media Monday, he made clear that he doesn't believe motivation will be an issue.

"Look, you try to find any edges, any way you can find an edge, and we keep getting the ammunition we need," Coen said. "That's our job as coaches and as staff to kind of continue to find little ways to motivate and to keep things going.

"We know that when we play with an edge, it's usually a good thing for the Jags."

NOTABLE

• Coen on Monday reiterated a point he made immediately following Sunday's game, calling the condition of the field at EverBank Stadium Sunday "phenomenal" considering the day's wet conditions. "Specifically want to give a shout out to our grounds crew and everybody that was involved getting that field in the condition that it has been in," Coen said. "Really, even going back to [a Week 11 victory over the Los Angeles] Chargers … that was such a great surface we played on. But [Sunday] … to not have guys slipping and sliding all over that surface. When we came out in pre-game and then early on in the game before it really started to get going, you wouldn't even have been able to tell that it was raining. Kudos to those guys. They put a lot of time into it and really appreciative of those guys."