JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars do not need any extra motivation heading into Week 8's battle with the Indianapolis Colts.

Jacksonville knows what Week 8's tilt with the Colts means moving forward, especially as it pertains to the race for the AFC South title. They also know that it is paramount to rebound from their last game, a 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 6 before they went on their bye week.

"When you go on a bye, it's the hardest thing to be on a bye, especially coming off of a loss and you just want to get back out there and compete, get back out there and practice," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said Wednesday.

"As I said, I didn't sleep a ton Sunday night because you're just wanting to get back at it, and you want to get back in the building with the players. And that's kind of been my sense of enjoyment, or any sort of sense of, I guess, confidence comes from being able to get back to work with these guys.”

So, what are the most important things Coen said on Wednesday as the Jaguars prepare for their next step in the race to the AFC South mountain top? We break it down below.

On the Colts' Changes

While the Jaguars are still riding relatively high entering Week 8, things are a little different with the Colts. The Colts have already begun a fire sale to concede their place in the AFC South race, opening the door for the Jaguars to have a potentially easier path. That fire sale has included trading away All-Pros like Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner to the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers this week, making the Colts a weakened team entering Sunday.

“Yeah, obviously really good players that I have a lot of respect for. [Seahawks OL] Quenton Nelson was playing arguably some of the best football of his career as was Buckner [49ers DT DeForest Buckner] in a lot of ways, extremely disruptive in both the run and the pass, batting a lot of tipped balls and created some issues inside with he and 95 [Adetomiwa Adebawore] in there rushing inside, who do you slide to, stuff like that. Obviously, it's two good players. We can't deny that, right?" Coen said.

With that said, Coen has once again stressed that the Jaguars can not put any energy or focus into what is going on across the sidelines. For the Jaguars to beat the Colts and build post-bye momentum, they will have to focus on what they do and their own improvements. It is easy to fall into the trap of underestmating a team, but the Jaguars have already seen what that looks like after their battle with the Philadelphia Eagles.

"But, knowing what this team is, knowing what that team's going to want to do, this has to all be about our improvements, us getting back on track," Coen said. "Got a good division opponent that we're playing at home and the focus level getting in pads today has to be about our execution, our fundamentals and technique because you just can't control that stuff and if you think about it too much, it typically doesn't help.”

On The Pass-Rush

While the Jaguars have been one of the better teams in the NFL at generating pressure (quickest time to pressure in NFL, No. 8 in pressure rate) they rank just 24th in sack rate. They are impacting the passer, but not bringing him down enough. At the same time, the coverage and the pass-rush have not been on the same page at the rate that they were a year ago, making the pass defense one of the biggest area of focuses coming out of the Jaguars' bye.

“I think it's a combination between hand usage, continuing to put guys in the spots with the right combinations of guys to help create some of those matchups and get the favorable matchup that we really want to hunt up out of the group," Coen said.

As things stand today, it does not feel as if there is some magic fix the Jaguars can find without adding someone before the trade deadline. The Jaguars are where they are in terms of the pass-rush, and the solution is to play better on multiple fronts.

"It starts with get off, it starts with hand usage, it starts with mixing in pressure looks to help get the back eaten up, or now we got one-on-one matchups, different spots. It has to get better," Coen said. "We need it to get better, but also, the back end's got to help, the second level of the defense has to help with some of those things. When you get the ball thrown over your head, then it doesn't help the rush. So, that’s been a combination of things.”

On Brian Thomas Jr.

There has certainly been a lot of outside chatter and debate when it comes to embattled Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who has not caught a pass since Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Thomas did not play a single snap in the second half of the Jaguars' Week 6 loss to the Houston Texans after two first-half drops, and his future with the team will remain in doubt until either they trade him or until he starts producing.

Coen took several questions on the Thomas front on Wednesday, though he once again stressed the belief that Thomas will help the Jaguars move the ball and score points when it comes to Sunday's game against the Colts. Coen has said that at several different poiints before, but the heat has never been turned up on Thomas quite like this.

“I mean, every player has ups and downs and it’s just week to week in the NFL. I fully anticipate he's going to make plays for us this Sunday," Coen said.

"It's just every week different guys step up, different guys make plays, and you've got to be able to be consistent with their approach as a coach to say, okay, you got to keep giving people opportunities. But also, when there's a hot hand going, you got to go with the hot hand a little bit here and there, and that's just the way the game flows.”