3 Jacksonville Jaguars stats that explain head-scratching Week 15 loss

Earlier this year, the Jacksonville Jaguars looked like a team that would experience growing pains but would also show progress throughout the 2021 season. After all, then-head coach Urban Meyer often talked about accountability and putting players in a position to succeed. But time passes by quickly and there are no indications the Jags are much better than they were six months ago.

Sure, the Jaguars have a potential franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence and cornerback Tyson Campbell has lived up to expectations. However, the NFL is about the wins and Jacksonville doesn’t have many of them. It’s one thing to lose to heavyweights such as the Los Angeles Rams but it’s a whole different deal to struggle against the Houston Texans the way they did in Week 15.

Back in Week 9, the Jaguars managed to fool everyone when they pull off the upset and beat the Buffalo Bills 9-6. Looking back, the win was an outlier, as they’ve gone on to lose six straight games after that. Moving forward there’s not much they can do but look back and avoid making the same mistakes in the next three weeks.

Without further ado, here are three stats that explain the Jaguars’ head-scratching loss to the Houston Texans in Week 15.

1. The Jacksonville Jaguars went 3-of-14 on third downs vs. the Texans.

If it looks like the Jaguars are reaching new lows, it’s because they are, sort of. They have been one of the worst NFL teams in 2021 when it comes to third-down success rate. For the year, their offense has posted a 34.3 percent conversion rate on said downs, and in Week 15, they completed a measly 21 percent of them. You won’t score many points, let alone win games with that kind of efficiency.

The coaching staff has talked about getting better on third downs all year long but there are only three weeks left in the season and there hasn’t been any meaningful improvement. In fact, it’s only gotten worse.