A devastating fourth-quarter collapse ignited a locker room talk that forged unbreakable resolve, sparking the Jaguars' current winning surge.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are 11-4, so head coach Liam Coen has had plenty of chances to give celebratory postgame speeches in his first season with the team.
But the moment that sticks out to Coen the most so far this year took place during maybe Jacksonville's darkest hour of 2025.
Against the Texans in Houston on Nov. 9, the Jags had a chance to prove themselves against a divisional foe that's turned into one of the AFC's best.
For three quarters, Jacksonville performed beautifully.
But the Jags coughed up a 29-10 fourth-quarter lead and lost, 36-29, to fall to 5-4.
It's was a loss that could have ruined the season.
But as Coen recounted after Jacksonville's 34-20 win at Denver on Sunday, the opposite happened after the defeat in Texas. And it all started in the postgame locker room.
"I'll keep going back to Houston," Coen said Monday, telling reporters his favorite locker-room speech usually comes after a loss. "Post-Houston, that was a tough locker room. That was a tough feeling, and that was gut-wrenching at the time."
Then, team leaders started to speak.
“I do recall Josh Hines-Allen speaking very briefly," Coen said. "I think Arik Armstead said a few things, and then we ended it. I didn't go on and on, and we didn't have a lengthy postgame. We said a few things. It was from the heart, it was real.
"But also, I think the guys knew in that moment some things needed to change, and we had to operate differently in terms of a 60-minute-mindset football game. And so, I'll continue to look back to that game as something that has helped us and fueled us moving forward."
Since that Week 10 loss, the Jags have six straight wins -- five by double digits -- and the team has had fun every step of the way.
"You want the staff, the players, the coaches, to want to come back in the building every day," Coen said. "Work for all of us, no matter what we're doing, it's hard, it's work, ... but you want it to be enjoyable. You want these guys to enjoy coming to work every day and enjoy being around each other. And so, yeah, it's been a fun group to be around so far.”
The Jags will keep working toward an AFC South title Sunday in Indianapolis. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.