The New York Jets (3-10) will visit the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4) at EverBank Stadium Sunday. Let's take a deeper look at what to expect from their Week 15 opponent.
First-Place Cats
Jacksonville will play host to the Green & White in sole possession of first place in the AFC South after defeating Indianapolis in Week 14, the first time they have held the outright division lead this season.
The Colts got off to a 7-1 start and had a 3-game lead in the division in Week 8, but the Jaguars tracked down the Blue & White with 5 victories in their last 6 games, including last week's 36-19 win over the visiting Colts.
"We knew there were a lot of big moments for us coming up over the last few weeks, and our guys responded in so many ways," Jags HC Liam Coen said postgame Sunday.
The South title, however, is far from clinched, and the Jets should expect to face a motivated opponent when they visit North Florida. The second place Texans (8-5) defeated the Chiefs Sunday night to stay a game back of Jacksonville, and additionally, the Colts, who fell to third in the division, will play the Jags again in Week 17.
What Has Led to the Jags Recent Surge After a 4-3 Start?
In Week 14, Jacksonville limited the Colts and RB Jonathon Taylor, the NFL's leading rusher, to 89 yards on the ground. In addition, they forced Indianapolis into 3 turnovers and scored 21 points off the takeaways.
Sunday's victory against Indy was the blueprint for the Jags 9-4 start, by slowing the opponent's running game, forcing turnovers and capitalizing on those mistakes.
"We have really found and continued to have balance," Liam Coen said about the team's 4-game win streak. "We will have a huge turnover and then hit a long run; it all keeps that momentum going."
Check out the top photos from the Jets' Week 14 against the Dolphins.
The Jaguars defense has allowed the fewest rushing yards (82.9 per game) in the NFL this season, totaled the second most takeaways (23) and over the last 4 games have 35 points off turnovers.
LB Devin Lloyd and edge John Hines-Allen have been the Jags best defenders. Lloyd leads the team with 5 interceptions, including a 99-yard pick-6, and his 59 tackles are third most on the team. Hines-Allen, a two-time Pro Bowler, has 11 tackles for loss and is on pace for his third double-digit sack season with 7.0 in 13 games.
Liam Coen's New Offense
Liam Coen took over as the Jags' head coach in 2025 after 1 season as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator and play caller. And in Coen's first season, Jacksonville improved from 26th in points and 25th in yards in 2024 to 9th and 17th, respectively.
How have those improvements come to fruition? Coen says it is in part because of the "fearlessness" QB Trevor Lawrence is playing with.
The former No. 1 overall pick's numbers haven't been something to write home about, throwing 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. But the Jaguars have unlocked a critical aspect of their offense with Lawrence under center: The downfield passing game.
"[The deep passing] has been huge, huge," Coen said after the Week 14 game. "When you can attack every blade of grass, it releases something and is something that, ultimately, we want to be able to do."
Against the Colts Sunday, Lawrence completed passes of 26, 29, 30, 37 and 39 yards. Those deep shots opened up the running game that went for 103 yards, 74 of which came from RB Travis Eitienne, who found the end zone twice.
"So much of our pass game has been a little bit more intermediate in trying to create more zones and catch and run and it opens up a lot," Coen said. "And these guys just keep going out there and making plays in a lot of ways."
