Liam Coen's early Jaguars gauntlet has disaster written all over it

For those of you who shouted "13-4!" every time the Jacksonville Jaguars received the slightest bit of criticism this offseason, I hope the franchise rewards your dedication with a powerful burst out of the gate. The official 18-week slate of games for all 32 teams dropped this week, and the Jags were given one of the most brutal gauntlets in the entire league.

While the season opener against the Cleveland Browns shouldn't be too bad, Jax will have to jump on a plane to play the Denver Broncos at Mile High in Week 2 and then face the defending AFC Champions, the New England Patriots, in Week 3.

I'm sure someone out there is saying, "Playing the Pats at home will give us an advantage!" To that person, I apologize, because it's hard to take such coping seriously after realizing Jacksonville has to play both of last season's AFC championship participants in back-to-back weeks.

Oh, the fun doesn't stop there, either. On paper, the games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans are "at home," but the Jaguars will actually be playing their trade in the United Kingdom both of those weeks. That means the team will only play in EverBank Stadium twice before the bye week.

Goodness gracious.

Liam Coen's due to face the hardest test of his tenure as the Jaguars' head coach

Liam Coen used a variety of newspaper clippings to get the troops riled up before going on their franchise-altering late-season winning streak in 2025, but there aren't too many national pundits doubting the Jaguars heading into 2026.

Even Warren Sharp, who isn't exactly confident about Jacksonville's chances during the first six weeks of the season, believes that the unit will bounce back after their bye in Week 7. While I agree with the spirit of Sharp's take (there's a three-week stretch where the Jags play the Tennessee Titans twice, with a matchup with the New York Giants in between), I don't think it will be as simple as he makes it sound.

If Coen & Company drop three or more games in the first phase of the season, they'll have to play catch-up against proven brands like the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Texans. Now, as pessimistic as I usually am, I can see the team winning its games against the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, and Washington Commanders.

So, even with the worst possible outcome, Jax can finish the season strong and compete for a Wild Card playoff spot. To be honest, having one of the toughest stretches in franchise history before the bye week is actually a good thing. The NFL backloaded the Jaguars' schedule with five AFC South battles, which means the team will be able to claw out of any hole it puts itself in overseas or on the contiguous mainland.

However, keeping the ship steady (and hope alive) will require a virtuosic coaching performance that only the greatest of all time have turned out when the chips were down. Coen's tone as a motivator seems to work best when his players don't think anyone outside the building believes in them.

If they hit a slump before they even get to their first of three primetime games, the Jags might get the criticism they need to feel like their backs are against the wall.

Last year, fighting back against the outside noise worked wonders for Trevor Lawrence, Parker Washington, and the other leaders on Coen's record-breaking offense. But, will it be fair for us to expect the same approach to work again?

Time will tell.

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