JACKSONVILLE Fla. — Fool a defense once, shame on them. Fool a defense twice, and there are some alarming tendecies being picked at.
That is where the Jacksonville Jaguars and their defense have to dig deep and reflect over the course of the bye week. In back-to-back weeks, the Jaguars have allowed a majorly impactful play downfield to a tight end. And in back-to-back weeks, teams took the exact same approach to beat the Jaguars’ defense.
First was Seattle Seahawks’ tight end AJ Barner burning the Jaguars for a 61-yard touchdown late in a 20-12 Jaguars loss in Week 6. Facing 1st-and-10 with 2:53 left in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars loaded the box to stop the run before Barner got behind the defense on a play-action concept. The gain got the Seahawks into scoring range with the Jaguars down by eight points, effectively ending the game.
— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025Then there was the dagger from the Los Angeles Rams during the Jaguars’ 35-7 loss in London. Any miniscule chance the Jaguars had of crawling back into the game evaporated when the Jaguars sold out against the run on 4th-and-1, leaving rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson wide open for a 31-yard touchdown.
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 19, 2025If the play felt familiar, that is because it was. According to head coach Liam Coen, it was the exact same play the Seahawks ran seven days earlier.
“Yeah, that was the same exact play [Rams TE Terrance Ferguson’s touchdown] versus a very similar defensive structure. It was fourth-and-one. We’re in our essentially 6-1 front, a front that we use a decent amount in goal line, short yardage, low red zone situations that a lot of people are using. Maybe we need to play a little bit more post-safety or something like that in some of those situations to not give up the middle of the field,” Coen said.
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Oct 19, 2025; London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson (18) celebrates with running back Kyren Williams (23) after scoring a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second half during a NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Boyers-Reuters via Imagn Images / Andrew Boyers-Reuters via Imagn Images
“We sold out a little bit up front, and they hit us on the same play. So, kudos to Sean [Rams Head Coach Sean McVay] and them, they did a great job of scheming us up, but if we don’t jump offsides on the previous play, then we’re not in that situation. So, I definitely think that we’ve got to look at—that’s exactly to your point is the things that we’re looking at. Okay, we’ve gotten hit on a similar type play. I don’t remember exactly what the D-and-D [down and distance] at Seattle was. I don’t recall the exact D-and-D. Yeah, I don’t think it was short yardage, but similar play. And so, okay, you’re clearly showing something that’s there for them to take and when you get into heavier sets, what are we playing?”
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