The Jacksonville Jaguars had plenty of impressive plays in their 22-17 Week 4 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, although admittedly, some of them didn't count. But one of them has just been named "Play Call of the Week."
NFL+ analyst Pete Herzog of Film Watchers named Brian Thomas Jr.'s touchdown his highlight of the week, specifically for how head coach Liam Coen was able to read the Cincinnati defense and use it to his advantage.
.@Filmwatchers1's Play Call of the Week goes to Jaguars HC Liam Coen! 👏⬇️ pic.twitter.com/iY9Ir4Qx0g
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) October 6, 2026
Herzog pointed to the Bengals' Week 1 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when Cincinnati showed a particular coverage response against a trips formation, with three receivers aligned on the same side of the field.
In that coverage, the safety was responsible for the innermost receiver, or No. 3, while the nickel defender initially handled the middle receiver, No. 2. As the routes developed, the defenders could pass receivers off based on where they went.
Coen apparently took note.
Early in Sunday's game, Jacksonville showed Cincinnati a similar trips formation. Parker Washington aligned as the No. 3 receiver and ran a quick route inside, while Jakobi Meyers crossed toward the middle of the field. The play ultimately resulted in an incompletion, but Herzog said the result wasn't necessarily the most important part.
"Liam Coen using that formation earlier in the game was verifying what defense they were gonna be in," Herzog said.
Cincinnati responded exactly as expected. The safety shifted his attention inside, while the nickel defender passed Meyers off toward him. Later, with Jacksonville facing second-and-seven from the Cincinnati 7-yard line, Coen went back to the same trips look.
"So, you know what the Bengals are gonna be in," Herzog said. "They're running that exact same defense."
This time, however, Jacksonville changed the routes. Washington, again aligned as the No. 3 receiver, ran toward the corner. Cincinnati's safety followed him, just as the Jaguars expected. Thomas then crossed toward the middle. The nickel defender passed Thomas off, expecting help from the safety, the same way Cincinnati had handled the earlier crossing route.
There was only one problem for the Bengals: the safety wasn't there.
Washington's corner route had pulled him away from the middle of the field, leaving Thomas completely uncovered.
"You know who's not there to pick up the crosser? The safety, because he was carrying the corner," Herzog continued. "Now BTJ is left wide open."
Trevor Lawrence found Thomas for an easy seven-yard touchdown, giving Jacksonville a 13-3 lead shortly before halftime.
What looked at first glance like a simple coverage breakdown was, according to Herzog, the product of Coen identifying a tendency on film, testing whether Cincinnati would use the same coverage against Jacksonville, and then calling the counter once the Bengals confirmed it.
"He could not be more open," Herzog said. "That's a touchdown, and that was a genius play call from one of the league's best."
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: NFL+ highlights Liam Coen’s BTJ touchdown as ‘Play Call of the Week’
