Jaguars' baffling spot in NFL Power Rankings just validated Liam Coen's remarks

It's official: the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to the playoffs. Their red-hot season just keeps getting hotter, with the most obvious example coming when the Jags utterly dominated the Denver Broncos, who were known as one of the best teams in the league beforehand.

Of course, it doesn't matter how many good teams Jacksonville defeats. The league will never give the Jaguars the respect they deserve; just look at how the Jags were snubbed for the Pro Bowl. Over and over again, Jacksonville is ranked below teams they've beaten.

Head coach Liam Coen is all-too-aware that his team is disrespected. But instead of getting angry, he has outright told the world to keep doing it. He's repeatedly said the Jaguars use that disrespect to give them more drive to win — and the league just keeps handing over more ammunition.

The NFL might doubt the Jaguars, but Liam Coen is turning that into fuel

The Week 17 power rankings are in, and Jags fans won't be surprised to see where their team ranked. While some gave Jacksonville its due, most of the time, it's the same old song-and-dance, with the Jaguars underrated and disrespected.

At Bleacher Report, the Jags came in at a mind-boggling No. 6, below the Broncos... you know, the team Jacksonville just beat. Eric Edholm rated the Jaguars a little higher, at No. 5 at NFL Media, but still below Denver. ESPN put the Jaguars several places below the Broncos.

For all of these, it could be said that the Jags haven't proved themselves enough still. Yet that skepticism isn't being applied to the New England Patriots, who are consistently rated above Jacksonville, even though the Patriots have one of the easiest schedules in the league and arguably haven't done nearly as much to prove themselves as the Jaguars have.

And then there's Richard Sherman, the favorite analyst of every Jags fan out there. His power rankings didn't put Jacksonville into the top five, and below two teams they've beaten: the Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Related: It's time we start talking about Trevor Lawrence as a legitimate MVP candidate

Liam Coen doesn't care if you don't respect him or the Jaguars

All that lack of recognition makes Liam Coen's entire attitude that much more understandable: the Jaguars simply don't get the credit they deserve. Yet he has made the decision to use that lack of respect as fuel. As he said in a recent interview where he was asked about the narrative surrounding the team:

"We don't care, you know, we really don't care," Coen said. "You know, we really don't care about the narrative. You know, it's, I'm sorry to say that, but it's only helping us. So I want the narrative to keep coming."

The Jags have taken on Coen's personality. They let no insult go unpunished, and no disrespect go unnoticed. That is driving them to prove everyone wrong, and week after week, and the league will continue to ignore Jacksonville at its own peril.