Liam Coen Praises Lawrence, Tuten After Strong Week 1 Showing

Week 1 for any team is supposed to be full of learning curves. However, while Jaguars coach Liam Coen noted room for growth after the first outing, Sunday’s season opener was certainly a strong start.

Following the 34-10 win over Cleveland, Coen addressed the media Monday and highlighted some of the standout individual performances, including Trevor Lawrence and Bhayshul Tuten, as well as the team’s effort.

“I think the guys came out and tried to do what we asked them to do in terms of starting fast,” Coen said. “Played some complementary football, which I also was harping on. Taking advantage of the opportunities we had with some of the turnovers.”

Sunday’s win was a team effort, but there were plenty of individuals who shined in their 2026 debut.

Bhayshul Tuten did much of the heavy lifting in the Jaguars’ run game, and overall it was an efficient showing led by their starting back. Tuten finished with 66 yards on 15 carries.

“Tuten ran his tail off; he ran hard,” Coen said. “I don’t think he missed many reads personally; I thought he ran through arm tackles a ton.”

The ground game was solid, but what the Jaguars managed to do in the air put points on the board.

Trevor Lawrence earned praise from Coen on Monday for his four-touchdown outing. He finished 18-of-23 passing for 245 yards and logged his 100th-career touchdown in the contest.

“It was great to see him be able to play off schedule, extend plays,” Coen said. “[That] was such a weapon for us towards the back half of last year … I know the wideouts love it because it continues to allow them opportunities to make plays down the field; the offensive line really appreciates it because now he’s moving off his spot, not just standing there like a statue, and allowing them to tee off on him.”

Rookie players also played a key role Sunday.

Nate Boerkircher played the most snaps (38) of any rookie tight end across the NFL. He caught one pass for 9 yards in the contest, but was also crucial in the team’s blocking game.

Coen said he took some pressure off starting tight end Brenton Strange, who caught two passes for 23 yards and one touchdown.

“Played a lot of snaps, did a lot of really good things in the run game,” Coen said. “It’s great to get Nate going, especially taking some of those hard downs away from Strange in some ways and be able to be at the point of attack not every single time.”

Wide receiver Josh Cameron, another rookie, also impressed Coen. Cameron had an impressive touchdown grab in traffic on a 4-yard pass from Lawrence.

“Josh obviously being strong hands, protecting himself away from the safety on the throw, that was high-level football. That’s an NFL ‘open’ touchdown,” Coen said.

The Jaguars will face their first real challenge of the season Sunday against one of the premier defenses in the NFL.

The Jaguars take on the Broncos next on the road at 4:05 p.m. Denver faces the Chiefs Monday night, giving Coen and crew less time to analyze their upcoming opponent before they face off in Week 2.

“The coaches are extremely busy looking at Denver when we played them [last year] and sort of how they looked,” Coen said. “We can look at the preseason a little bit because they have a new coordinator calling plays and what his flow looked like and some of the rhythm and ways that he called the game. But we got to wait a little bit to see what they truly look like.”

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