Jaguars have allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL and are third in the NFL with 144 yards rushing per game
Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars coach, speaks after defeating 49ers
Liam Coen spoke with reporters after the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the San Francisco 49ers 26-21 in NFL Week 4.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line has been a key factor in the team’s 3-1 start, allowing an NFL-low three sacks.The line paved the way for 151 rushing yards against the 49ers, including another 100-yard game for Travis Etienne.Significant offseason changes, including new coaching and player acquisitions, have contributed to the unit’s improved performance.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line excelled at every phase of their job on Sept. 28 in a 26-21 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
They paved the way for 151 yards rushing and another 100-yard game for Travis Etienne.
They not only didn’t allow a sack for the second game this season, but quarterback Trevor Lawrence wasn’t hit on any of his 31 pass attempts (the first time since 2015 that a 49ers defense did not register a quarterback hit) as the Jaguars improved to 3-1 entering their Monday night game on Oct. 6 at home against 2-2 Kansas City (8:15 p.m., ABC/ESPN).
And just to show that their protective instincts don’t end when the clock hits 0:00, who had coach Liam Coen’s back during his postgame dustup with San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh?
Center Robert Hainsey pulled Coen away and tackle Walker Little put his 325-pound body in front of Saleh and with a wry smile, shooed the 49ers coach away.
“That was the easiest [block], for sure,” Hainsey said on Monday during a teleconference with the Jaguars media.
Saleh’s defensive front didn’t put up much more of a fight.
Jaguars OL opening holes, keeping Lawrence upright
While the Jaguars’ offense is still finding its operational way under Coen’s new and frequently complicated system, the constant has been the starting offensive line of Hainsey, flanked by guards Ezra Cleveland and Patrick Mekari and tackles Little and Anton Harrison.
The unit is tied with Denver for an NFL season-low three sacks allowed, the Jaguars’ average of 144 yards rushing per game is third in the league and their per-carry average of 5.01 yards is sixth.
“They’re playing at a high level right now,” Coen said. “There’s a lot of things we can continue to correct but it starts up front and right now, when we play well up front, usually good things happen for us.”
And it’s in stark contrast to last season. Through four games in 2024, the Jaguars were averaging 126.2 yards per game and Lawrence had been sacked 13 times.
By the end of the 4-13 season, the Jags averaged 101.7 yards per game, Lawrence and Mac Jones had been sacked 32 times and the offensive line became an easy whipping boy for the team’s offensive failures.
Jaguars make O-Line changes from top to bottom
Enter Coen, general manager James Gladstone and Vice-President of Football Operations, Tony Boselli, who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for being the greatest Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman in franchise history.
Changes were made, and quickly.
Shaun Sarrett was hired as the Jags’ offensive line coach. Sarrett was an offensive line assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first nine years in his career, and last year coached the Minnesota offensive line during a season in which the Vikings were among the top 10 in every important offensive category.
Center Mitch Morse retired and guard Brandon Scherff was released and later retired. Mekari and tackles Chuma Edoga and Fred Johnson were signed in free agency. Guard Wyatt Milum (who has been hampered so far with knee injury) and center Jonah Monheim were drafted and earned roster spots, enabling the Jaguars to part ways with two underachieving Trent Baalke draft picks, Luke Fortner and Javon Foster.
The result so far has been a quarterback with a clean uniform and no injuries and a running game that is humming like a finely tuned sports car.
Jaguars have developed O-Line depth
“Another game with no sacks is always going to be a positive,” Hainsey said. “I didn’t realize we rushed for 150 yards. I think we left a lot out there … keep opening holes for our backs and they’re doing a great job breaking, hitting and getting downhill.”
The performance by the line was even more impressive because they had bring Edoga and Cole Van Lanen off the bench when Mekari and Harrison were injured during the game. Edoga played 22 snaps and Van Lanen 19 and it never appeared as if the Jaguars missed a beat.
“It’s how those guys prepared,” Hainsey said of Edoga and Van Lanen being ready to play. “Across the board in that room, we take everything very seriously, preparation being, probably, number one. Trust your preparation, trust your technique and fundamentals.”
Lawrence was appreciative of the line’s depth.
“We had seven or eight guys play today. That’s hard to do,” he said. “It’s hard to just come in when you haven’t had a lot of reps with that starting unit and guys filling in and playing well. Hats off to them. They protected well, we ran the ball great and did what we needed to do. They gave me plenty of time back there.”
Anton Harrison responds to Coen’s challenge
Harrison was able to return to the game after an elbow injury and Hainsey said the third-year tackle continues to respond after Coen gently called Harrison out during mandatory mini-camp in June.
“When Anton wants to go, he can go,” Coen said. “Just consistently doing it on a day-in, day-out basis.”
Harrison is doing that now, including a game when he played hurt the entire second half.
“Anton was tough as nails coming back and finishing the game,” Hainsey said. “I was incredibly proud of him. That was really cool to see. He’s a staple in our room and he’s going to continue to play like that and continue to elevate himself.”
Harrison’s play also enabled the Jaguars to trade Johnson back to Philadelphia and get a draft pick.
Coen’s system helps the line
Hainsey said that aside from retooling the offensive line room, another reason for the unit’s success so far is Coen’s system, which keeps defenses off-balance.
“Everything’s married together really well,” he said. “It makes it hard to see what we’re doing next. They’ve [the coaching staff] has done an excellent job in marrying the run with the pass, the play pass, the screens, all that stuff … giving us an opportunity to execute the scheme with our technique and fundamentals. And Liam’s calling it … it’s really hard to stop.”
From the other side of the ball, linebacker Dennis Gardeck sees a unit meshing together despite returning only four players among the two-deep depth chart.
“Coming back from an injury I was kind of late to the field [in training camp] and didn’t see the progression,” Gardeck said. “But what I saw was a group of guys that worked well together, that would win their one-on-one matchups … it’s awesome to see … that’s showing up in a major way on Sundays.”
Jaguars need to cut down on penalties
It’s not perfect. The offensive line’s overall performance has been marred by penalties.
The Jaguars lead the NFL with 38 accepted penalties and 12 have been on the offensive line, including six holds (Mekari and Little have two each) and five false starts (two on Little).
But the Jaguars hope that will get cleaned up as the offenses evolves.
Jaguars’ offensive line clears the wayCategoryFirst four games, 2025First four games, 2024Rush yards per game144.0126.2100-yard rushing games20Sacks allowed313Record3-10-4