3 key stats that explain the Jaguars disappointing loss to the Texans

1. The Jaguars’ offense only mustered 6 points vs. the Texans

Nobody will confuse the Jags’ offense with The Greatest Show on Turf but there’s no doubt they left much to be desired against Houston. As recently as two weeks ago, Jacksonville had one of the best offenses in the league and they even managed to keep up with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4. However, the Texan’s defense proved to be much for them.

Forget the interceptions, the Jags didn’t find Houston’s end zone even once, the first time this season they failed to do so. Head coach Lovie Smith, who’s also their defensive coordinator, deserves plenty of praise for getting his team their first win of the year but also for crafting a game plan that contained the Jags’ offense.

422 total yards, which is the amount the Jaguars tallied, looks great on paper but it doesn’t mean much if you can’t score touchdowns. Total yards and points are a widespread way to assess an offense’s efficiency but the latter is the more meaningful statistic of the two.

It doesn’t matter if a defense gives up yards in chunks if they can stop an offense from scoring touchdowns and holding them to field goals, which is precisely what Houston did in Week 5.

The Jaguars had several plays that went over 20 yards but they ultimately could get the job done against their division rival. Coincidentally, they logged fewer yards against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 but still managed to put 24 points on the scoreboard. If Jacksonville can rack up the same amount in their Week 6 rematch, they might be able to get back into the win column.