The Houston Texans own the Jacksonville Jaguars, and there’s no way around it. The last time the Jags managed to beat their AFC South rivals was in the distant year of 2017. And despite the fact that they have a legitimate chance to win in Week 5 and strengthen their lead in the division, they fell flat and lost 13-6.
It’s easy to talk about things a coach or a player could have done better with the benefit of hindsight and there are definitely several things that Jaguars could’ve done differently against the Texans. Head coach Doug Pederson knows it and told the media Monday he will have players watch films in order to get better. With that in mind, here are three stats that explain the Jags’ disappointing loss to Houston.
3. The Jaguars went had trouble converting in 3rd and 4th downs
The Jaguars registered 22 first downs against the Texans. That’s a healthy number but a closer look will reveal that they left several opportunities on the table. They had a 42.8 percent efficiency rate on third downs, which isn’t disastrous but isn’t great either. Also, they went 0-3 on their fourth down attempts. If you put the two together, their conversion rate drops to a subpar 35.2 percent (6-of-17).
Doug Pederson isn’t the kind of head coach that is afraid to go for it on fourth down and more often than not, his high-risk, high-reward approach pays off. However, it didn’t work against the Texans and instead ended up becoming detrimental.
On the other hand, the Jags’ defense deserves credit for holding ground. They weren’t perfect and didn’t have an answer for running back Dameon Pierce but they forced several three-and-outs and limited Houston to just 13 points. All things considered, they gave the offense a chance to come away with the W.
2. The Jaguars’ skilled-position players dropped 5 passes vs. the Texans
Trevor Lawrence didn’t have a good outing for the second straight week. Some of his passes were off-target and didn’t always make good decisions. The interception he threw in the third quarter in the Texans’ red zone was arguably his worst throw of the season. However, he wasn’t the sole reason the Jags were able to gain yards in chunks but didn’t manage to score a single touchdown.
The Jaguars’ skilled-position players had a combined five drops, per Pro Football Focus, in Week 5, some of them more costly than the others. Early in the game, wide receiver Zay Jones wasn’t able to come down with a pass that could have helped the offense move the chains. Also, tight end Dan Arnold had a drop close to the end of the first half.
But the two most egregious drops came with the game on the line. After the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, Lawrence looked for Travis Etienne but he couldn’t hold onto the ball. Maybe the pass was a bit too fast but it was catchable. Earlier in the same drive and with 2:44 on the clock, tight end Evan Engram had another drop.
Would either drop have changed the outcome of the game? That’s debatable but it wouldn’t have hurt the Jags’ chances of winning the game. Etienne’s almost fumble in Texans’ territory near the end of the second quarter didn’t help matters either. Had the Jags made any of those plays, maybe just maybe we would be talking about their third win of their season and not their second straight loss.
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.