JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said finding and fixing the problems -- what he called "the stink" -- that were covered up by 13 victories and an AFC South title in 2025 is critical if the Jaguars are going to be better in 2026.
One of the stinks that bothered him the most was the lack of production in the run game in the second part of the season. Yards per game and yards per carry dropped drastically in the final six weeks and they can't have that inconsistency again, even as they work to replace their top ball carrier.
After averaging 128.1 rushing yards per game (eighth in the NFL) and 4.4 yards per carry (16th) in Weeks 1-12, the Jaguars averaged 91.2 yards per game (27th) and 3.3 yards per carry (31st) in Weeks 13-18.
"If we attack it with the same exact mindset and mentality in both the run and the pass, we're going to end up where we ended up last year and that's not good enough," Coen said. "So for us to click on all cylinders, both the run and the pass marriage is important. And I'm not saying we're going to rush for 130 every single week for 17 weeks. That's not realistic.
"... If we want to be great, if we want to go to the next level, if we want to win playoff games, we have to be clicking on all cylinders."
Some of the cylinders have changed in the run game. Travis Etienne Jr., who led the Jaguars with 1,107 yards rushing last season, signed with the New Orleans Saints in free agency. The Jaguars in turn signed Chris Rodriguez Jr., who rushed for 920 yards and 10 touchdowns in three seasons with the Washington Commanders, to help replace Etienne, the third-leading rusher in franchise history (3,798 yards).