Tom Krasovic: With fiery coach, capable QB, Jaguars look like one of AFC’s top cats

It’s mid-December and the Jacksonville Jaguars still bear watching.

This isn’t fiction.

Long inept, the Jaguars have become dangerous to opponents, rather than to themselves and their fans.

The only team based in Florida to never reach the NFL’s biggest game, Jacksonville now stands among the legit Super Bowl contenders, deep into an NFL regular season characterized by greater competitive parity.

What the heck happened to the bumbling Jags?

Two notable clues were seen or heard Sunday in Denver.

Trevor Lawrence lit up the Broncos in a 34-20 victory that ended Denver’s 11-game win streak and kept the Jaguars atop the AFC South.

The second clue came when Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard made a key point in a postgame interview.

Wingard, explaining the franchise’s turnaround to a Jaguars radio broadcaster, lauded the teachings of Liam Coen, the team’s rookie head coach.

“He coaches us up mentally,” he said.

But the notable clue came seconds later, when Wingard opined on how Lawrence, 26, has benefited from Coen and staff’s coaching.

“He makes a mistake, he’s getting chewed out,” Wingard said. “They pampered him before. Let’s call a spade a spade.”

Was Lawrence truly pampered by previous Jags coaches?

Having been a teammate since the Clemson star joined the NFL as the draft’s top pick in 2021, Wingard might know.

Early this season, Coen, a former UMass quarterback who coached under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams, was seen hollering at Lawrence on the sideline after an incompletion. The coach pointed to his chest in reference to Lawrence’s overthrown pass.

Coen downplayed the exchange, saying tense moments are part of football interaction and quickly forgotten.

“It’s been a lot of building up of confidence in ways,” Coen said of his relationship with Lawrence entering the season, “and showing him great examples of when he does it the way we’re coaching it to be done.”

Tom Brady received much coaching that was the opposite of pampering.

NFL microphones caught terse and abrasive words from Bill Belichick during several practices and games. Cameras found coordinator Bill O’Brien ripping into the veteran Brady as he sat on the bench.

Coen was hired last offseason after a dazzling year as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Lawrence was entering his fifth NFL season.

The quarterback’s play has ascended in recent weeks, lifting his season to a career-best level.

He has 12 touchdown passes and zero interceptions in his past four games.

His touchdown passing rate this year is his best, by far. He’s fumbling less often.

Lifting his team more often, Lawrence has made more high-end athletic plays this year that are a staple of AFC stars such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert.

Physically, the 6-foot-5½ quarterback appears far more stout than when he weighed 213 to 218 pounds entering the NFL.

His play strength appears improved, yet his sprint speed remains above average for a QB.

Demoralizing defenses, he has set career marks for rushing touchdowns (seven) and runs for first downs (32).

The Jaguars (11-4) are more than the Trevor Show.

Their defense ranks second in interceptions. On the margins Sunday, they got a long kick return from DeeJay Dallas and several good punts from Logan Cooke.

Coen’s play designs and calls seem to have benefited several blockers and running back Travis Etienne, who entered the NFL with Lawrence and is having his best season as a receiver.

Having gone 6-3 against teams with winning records and won 11 games for the first time since 2007, the Jaguars will be favored at Indianapolis this week and in the finale against Tennessee.

Which AFC teams are playing the best going into late December?

Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers and Coen’s Jaguars stand in the first tier — just like no one forecast when L.A. lost its two standout offensive tackles to season-ending injury and when Jacksonville entered the season.