Jags coach Liam Coen says costly delay-of-game penalties vs. Eagles were 'directly on me'

WATFORD, England (AP) — The Jaguars’ offense tripped over itself several times against the Eagles last Sunday.

Jacksonville coach Liam Coen says the blame falls on him for key delay-of-game penalties late in the game.

Coen said Wednesday he took responsibility when he met with the offense Monday to dissect mistakes made in Jacksonville's unlikely 19-17 victory over Philadelphia at a Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that roared with Eagles fans.

Down 14-10 in the fourth quarter, the Jags had 1st and goal from the 1 but failed to score. On that set of downs, they were pushed back to the 14 after a false start and two delay-of-game penalties amid thunderous noise from the pro-Philly crowd.

Trevor Lawrence, who spiked the ball in anger after the first delay of game, eventually threw incomplete on 4th and goal from the 5.

During Monday's meeting, Coen said he showed clips of the huddle breaking with eight seconds on the play clock.

“That’s not giving you guys the best chance to go succeed. And that’s directly on me,” Coen said.

The coach said he’ll consider ways to “maybe even shorten it up, trim the verbiage or call something a little bit more simplified down there where it was in that end zone specifically that got loud.”

Lawrence said players can also make improvements.

“Obviously it was cool to see him take ownership and point out some things where maybe he could get a call in sooner or whatever it was,” Lawrence said. “But I think as players, it also makes you reflect on the plays yourself and say, ‘this is what I need to do better.’ And I think it having a coach that does that makes it easier for the players to all take your own ownership of what you need to fix.”

Ideally, the quarterback added, it's best to break the huddle with about 20 seconds left on the play clock.

“It's not always realistic and you look around the league — I don’t know what the percentage of that happening is — but it’s a good feeling when you can break at 20 and see what you’re looking at or get a chance to look at the defense. Some situations it’s not realistic because there’s a lot of factors that play into that.”

The Jags remained in London this week and face the Houston Texans on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.

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