A Win is a Win, and That’s All That Matters…..right?

Well, the Jaguars have beaten the Houston Texans.  Sure, it took a really long pass that was 20% of David Garrard’s total yardage on the day.  Sure, Scobee missed a pair of kicks for the first time in the season.  But at least we got another W!  And after all, the Jaguars should only care about winning, no matter how poorly its defense plays, right?

Wrong.

This game shouldn’t have come down to a last ditch hail mary by David Garrard.  The Jags, up seven points with a few minutes left in the fourth, should have been able to make a stand with their defense and stop the Texans on their tying drive.  It didn’t happen.  In theory, had Scobee made his kicks, the Jags would have been up six points and not in this situation, but that doesn’t give the team much of an excuse.  Mr. Automatic can’t always score every time his number is called.  Though it would be nice.

What forced the game to come down to a final throw is that the defense, while playing hard, once again allowed more than 300 yards passing to the opposing QB.  The Texans are a multifaceted threat on the offensive side of the ball and the Jaguars were able to limit the production of Arian Foster, but weren’t able to limit Matt Schaub, or Andre Johnson on a bum ankle.

To be honest though, I was pretty impressed by the defensive play on Sunday.  I thought the players were hitting hard, the points they allowed were limited, and the Texans looked slightly puzzled when they were on the field.  Looking back, I am puzzled too.  How does a team that is moving the ball (395 yards) only put up 24 points?  And they did it without turning the ball over too (Discounting the fumble leading to the Jags’ final heave to the endzone).  Was this the start of the return to Jack Del Rio’s “bend but don’t break” philosophy?  I can only assume so.

Is it important for the Jags to get the win? Yes.

Are all their problems on defense sovled? No.

But for now, enjoy the week and smile whenever you think about Mike Thomas scooping up the deflected ball to get a win for the Jaguars.

– Luke N. Sims