Trevor Lawrence and Liam Coen were just trying to win a football game on Sunday in Cincinnati, but it all went horribly wrong late for the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback and head coach.
Coen is in his first season as the man in charge in Jacksonville, and perhaps he let his emotions go too far late in the fourth quarter. The former offensive coordinator at Kentucky in 2021 and 2023 screamed at Lawrence, the former Clemson star signal-caller, after Lawrence was off target on a pass on 2nd-and-14 from the Bengals’ 17-yard line.
Instead of completing the throw and continuing the momentum of the drive as the Jaguars tried to protect a 27-24 lead, the throw was high and Coen let his quarterback have it, screaming at him from the sidelines and motioning to hit his receivers in the chest. Lawrence was trying to do just that but didn’t in that moment, and then it all went really wrong after that.
Here is the off-target pass to Dyami Brown and Coen’s subsequent rant at his equally frustrated QB:
The incomplete pass brought up 3rd-and-14 and 2 plays later, after deciding not to attempt a field goal, the drive was stopped on downs. The score remained 27-24 with a little under 4 minutes to go, and then naturally Cincinnati answered with a 15-play, 92-yard touchdown drive to take a 31-27 lead with 18 seconds left.
Adding insult to injury, the Bengals’ winning drive was led by their backup quarterback, after Joe Burrow left the game with a toe injury and Jake Browning entered.
The end result was a loss for the Jaguars after the Lawrence-Coen incident, as Jacksonville fell to 1-1 on the season.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
