Jaguars head coach Liam Coen wanted to see improvement from his starters and got it.
After an erratic preseason opener and a lethargic week of training camp, the Jaguars put things together in the first half against the Saints, coming away with a 17-17 tie in New Orleans.
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With one preseason game left to go, along with joint practices with the Dolphins this week, Coen certainly has to feel better where the Jaguars are in the process.
The things that Coen has emphasized much of the last two weeks (clean up the penalties, stop the self-inflicted mistakes) finally clicked in the first half for the Jaguars, who led 17-3 at the break.
“Yes, you definitely felt a better sense of urgency of the alignment assignment, getting lined up, the shifts in motions were clean. I was pleased with the operation, especially coming from what we were trying to emphasize last week. I was pleased with that. I definitely felt like we played well enough to win,” Coen said. “But, in this game, and especially in preseason, you see some crazy stuff and like to be able to finish the game the right way.”
There were no flags called on the starting offense or defense.
The pre-snap issues were cleaned up, and the running game had some juice.
The defense, which was gashed by backups against the Steelers in the preseason opener, limited New Orleans to just 29 yards in the opening quarter.
That’s major progress.
Even without a half-dozen projected starters (Dyami Brown, Anton Harrison and Travis Hunter were missing on offense; Arik Armstead, Tyson Campbell and Maason Smith were out on defense), Jacksonville didn’t lag on either side of the ball.
Offensively, Coen wasn’t pleased by three turnovers — a lost fumble by quarterback Trevor Lawrence and interceptions by Seth Henigan and Nick Mullens — but there was still substantial progress.
“I think we had a very physical week of practice, and then they came out and played physically, and they also played smarter in a lot of ways,” Coen said. “I believe that this team responded in the right way from being challenged post Steelers game, to coming out and having one of our better practices at training camp this week. Then having a little bit of an uglier scrimmage and then come out and start fast in the game.”
Lawrence was decisive running the offense again, moving Jacksonville up and down the field with ease. In his two drives, Lawrence went 8 of 10 for 76 yards and a touchdown to Parker Washington for a 7-0 lead late in the opening quarter.
“This game was another step in the right direction for Trevor. You saw him clicking through progressions again and getting to his third and fourth reads a few times,” Coen said. “I thought we protected him really well up front, which allows a quarterback to do those things. Also, when you run the ball effectively, it also takes some pressure off the quarterback. So, I was pleased with his outing tonight.”
In three preseason drives, Lawrence is 14 for 17 passing for 119 yards and a touchdown. He led Jacksonville to a field goal in his lone drive against Pittsburgh.
Lawrence set the Jaguars up quickly on their opening drive, missing his first pass attempt and then hitting his next four. Other than Lawrence’s efficiency, the major positive on that drive was protection. He had time to set up in the pocket and go through his reads without being seriously pressured.
“Yeah, good to see that. We made a big emphasis on it this week in practice, and it was good to see it carry over. The guys really owned it and were a lot sharper pre-snap,” Lawrence said. “Still more work to be done. That’s a focus and emphasis of course for us moving forward, but there was definitely improvement.”
With a revamped line that didn’t start right tackle Harrison (injury), that’s major progress from how things have gone. Travis Etienne rushed for 24 yards on just three carries, and his backfield partner Tank Bigsby had a 19-yard reception.
“It was really big. That is what it is all about,” Bigsby said. “Coming out and being able to be first, I felt like we did a good job and just have to keep growing from it.”
Washington and tight end Hunter Long, both of whom had big drops in last week’s game against Pittsburgh, each had big grabs in the opening half. Washington got in the end zone on Lawrence’s touchdown throw. Long went up high to snag a 26-yard completion from Nick Mullens late in the second quarter to set up Jacksonville’s second touchdown, a 3-yard run by rookie Bhayshul Tuten.
Cam Little hit a 53-yard field goal just before the half to extend the gap.
The Saints scored 14 points in the second half — including a late touchdown and 2-point conversion — to force the draw. There is no overtime in the preseason.
