There’s no sugarcoating this one — that loss by the Jacksonville Jaguars hurts.
Despite being up by three scores with 1:33 left in the third quarter, Jacksonville dropped their Week 10 matchup against the Houston Texans.
With the dust having somewhat settled on this game, let’s take a look back at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Jaguars’ performance.
The good from the Jaguars‘ Week 10 performance vs. the Texans
Turning takeaways into points: Not a lot came easily for the Jaguars’ offense, but they did capitalize on the turnover opportunities that came their way. A takeaway by the defense and then the special teams unit resulted in 10 points by the offense. Then in the second half, a turnover on downs forced by the Jacksonville defense eventually led to another Jaguars’ touchdown by the offense.
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Jaguars’ special teams unit: The special teams unit accounted for 17 of the Jaguars’ 29 total points. Kicker Cam Little was 3-for-3 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points. Parker Washington had a punt return for a touchdown as well. Also, two of Logan Cooke’s three punts were inside the 20-yard line.
The bad from the Jaguars’ Week 10 performance vs. the Texans
Red zone performances: This goes for both sides of the ball. Despite the offense averaging just 3.9 yards per play, they did find themselves in the red zone four times. However, they scored only two touchdowns. The Jacksonville defense, meanwhile, allowed Houston to make five red zone visits, which included four touchdowns. Those are significant swings in point totals that occurred.
Penalties: Another week where we are talking about penalties. The Jaguars entered this game averaging over nine penalties per game — the most in football — and they finished this game penalized nine times for 90 yards. Winning games when constantly putting yourself in disadvantageous situations isn’t easy.
The offensive output: As mentioned, the Jaguars had four red zone visits and put up 29 points, but that doesn’t exactly tell the story of how challenging moving the ball was for much of the game. The offense averaged under 4.0 yards per rush, Trevor Lawrence threw for 158 yards, and the offense as a unit averaged 3.9 yards per play. For some context, Cleveland entered Week 10 averaging 4.1 yards per play, which ranked 32nd in the NFL. Houston had one of the stingiest defenses coming into this game and their pass rush was again disruptive.
Third down performances: One team could stay on the field offensively, while the other could not. The Jaguars picked up just 4-of-11 third-down attempts, while the Texans moved the chains on 10 of their 15 attempts. In part, this resulted in Houston running 14 more plays than the Jaguars did and in a close game that matters.
The ugly from the Jaguars’ Week 10 performance vs. the Texans
The fourth quarter offense: Up 29-10 at one point in the second half, the Jaguars’ offense completely shut down in the fourth quarter. On three possessions, the Jaguars ran nine total plays, with two three-and-outs, while holding the ball for roughly four minutes.
At the end of the day, it’s up to the defense to get stops, which they didn’t do, but the Jaguars’ offense didn’t do them any favors, especially after being on the field for a 13-play drive between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter. The Jacksonville defense was on the field a lot in the final 17 minutes of game time, and Houston capitalized.