Jaguars head coach Liam Coen discussed how much trust he has in quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are roaring as they head into their AFC Wild Card Playoff against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon. They enter the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak on the heels of what has become one of the better offenses in the league, led by head coach Liam Coen and quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
If you ask Coen, however, he'll tell you Lawrence deserves all the credit and has shown a lot of confidence. That's exactly what he told Rich Eisen during his appearance Monday on The Rich Eisen Show.
"He's taking care of the football, but also playing aggressively," Coen told Eisen when discussing the confidence and play of Lawrence.
Lawrence has thrown just one interception in his last six games, while passing for at least two touchdowns in seven straight games, including his five-TD outing in Week 15 against the New York Jets in a 48-20 win.
Coen also discussed Lawrence's ability to use his legs and extend plays. On top of his 29 passing touchdowns, Lawrence added nine rushing TDs this season. Four came in the final four weeks of the season. Lawrence set a new franchise record with 38 total touchdowns -- Blake Bortles previously held the record with 37 back in 2015.
Coen raved about the way Lawrence has taken "complete ownership" of the offense and how he's able to lead the charge, especially in clutch situations.
"He's executing third downs and (the) red zone at a high level. Throughout the whole season, he's done a great job in two-minute situations, whether that's end of the half or end of the game.
"These quarterbacks are judged by those moments, by two minutes, by third down, by red zone and, ultimately, does your team win? Do you elevate your team and the players around you to lead and that's what he's done.
"He has complete ownership of the offense right now. He's making audibles, checks, cans, alerts. He's doing everything that you want a franchise quarterback to do and he's doing it at a high level right now."
One number Coen can reference when discussing Lawrence on third downs is the number 1,111. That's how many passing yards Lawrence has on third downs this season, per Sports Info Solutions. Only three quarterbacks (Dak Prescott, Bo Nix, Drake Maye) threw for more. Lawrence also ranked in the top 10 this season with 520 passing yards in the final two minutes of a half.
Coaching has become more like conversations between Coen and Lawrence, as in Coen now is able to discuss more with Lawrence what he sees on the field because Coen has so much confidence in his quarterback.
"It allows me to listen and hear him out of things he's seeing when he's preparing, when he's watching tape," Coen said. "As we're going through the week, little slight tweaks and adjustments we make, we make together."
Coen also acknowledged the "phenomenal" work of offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and quarterbacks coach Spencer Whipple and how it's been a "collaborative effort" between everyone.
The effort has shown, particularly in the second half of the season. The Jaguars have won eight straight entering the playoffs.
Lawrence posted a non-negative EPA/dropback (expected points added) in all but one of those games (Week 12 at Cardinals, -0.26), per NFL Pro. When combining EPA/play and completion percentage above expected (CPOE), Lawrence is the 4th-most efficient quarterback (minimum 250 plays), per RBSDM.
From where the Jaguars were at the beginning of the season to where they are now is a huge improvement. It's why they went 13-4 in the regular season, won the AFC South and are very much now a contender in the wide-open AFC to reach their first Super Bowl in franchise history. All thanks to No. 16.