The Jacksonville Jaguars had a prime opportunity to show in Week 3 that their subpar performance against the Kansas City Chiefs was an outlier and not the norm. However, they proved that something is not right when they lost 37-17 to the Houston Texans.
The Jags are now 1-2 and no longer in control of the AFC South. Meanwhile, the Texans got their first win of the year. All things considered, this was an embarrassing loss when you take into account that Jacksonville simply has too much talent on both sides of the ball to have the same record as their division foe.
In the end though, you are what your record says you are and the Jaguars are not very good right now. With that in mind, here are three observations, one sort of positive and two about the team's underwhelming performance.
3. The Jaguars finally got the running game going vs. The Texans
On a day in which nothing was seemingly working, the Jaguars managed to get the running game going. Travis Etienne broke off a few long runs and also contributed in the passing game. Similarly, rookie Tank Bigsby got a few carries after not getting any in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The duo combined for a respectable 100 yards (88 by Etienne, 12 by Bigsby).
Bigsby, like the tank he is, got into the end zone in the third quarter to give the Jaguars their first touchdown of the game. Also encouraging was the fact that he didn't make any costly mistakes like he did in the opener. Moving forward, expect him to get more chances.
Going back to Etienne, he got help from the Jags' offensive line. While the Texans' defensive front isn't nearly as good as Kansas City's, they did a good job (for the most part) of protecting Trevor Lawrence and opening running lanes.
From the get-go, it looked like the Jaguars wanted to establish the run. Unfortunately, the approach didn't lead to a win. That said, Etienne's and Bigsby's effort shouldn't go unnoticed. They did their part, and the offense's inability to score points cannot be pinned on them.
2. The Jaguars defense finally came undone against the Texans
The Jaguars' defense kept the team afloat the first two games of the season. In the opener, they made a few key stops in the second half that helped the offense put enough points on the scoreboard to get on top. In Week 2, they limited the Kansas City Chiefs' potent attack to just six games in the first half. Trevor Lawrence and the offense couldn't capitalize on the opportunity but it's fair to say that the defense didn't do their part. This week, they couldn't come through.
For the first time in the season, the Jaguars' defense gave more than 30 points. Early in the third quarter, the score was still a manageable 17-10 but the offense couldn't score and the defense couldn't stop the Texans' offense, led by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. Granted, special teams also gave a touchdown, a return by fullback Andrew Beck, but the other 30 points solely fall on the defense.
What's more frustrating is that the Texans dominated at the line of scrimmage despite the fact that they were without several starters, including left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Left guard Kendrick Green just joined the team a couple weeks ago, so nobody would've been surprised if he had struggled. Instead, he held his own and did a solid job of protecting Stroud.
To make matters worse, the Jaguars didn't get to Stroud even once. They were manhandled in the trenches and the Ohio State product had more than enough time to torch the secondary, which also failed to come up with any big play
1. What's next for the 1-2 Jaguars after losing to the Texans?
This was a team loss. Putting aside the running game and a handful of individual performances, the Jaguars were outplayed in every phase of the game: Coaching, offense, defense, and special teams. The Texans showed up at EverBank as an 8-point underdog, kept their head down, got to work, and did more than enough to get their first win of the season.
Kudos to head coach DeMeco Ryans, who got his players ready for the challenge. Conversely, the loss should fall on Doug Pederson's shoulders. It all starts with the head coach and Pederson said that the team had a good week of practice. That wasn't reflected on the field or the scoreboard.
#Jaguars HC Doug Pederson says practice "has been a lot better" this week compared to last week. It's been a good week.
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) September 22, 2023
The offense, for its part, wasn't in synch. They were flagged for false starts and illegal formations twice. Some of that falls on coaching and another part on execution. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley dropped two passes early in the game. One might've led to a touchdown. Trevor Lawrence went 27-of-40 for 279 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Not bad stats but he threw an ugly pick in the second game that killed whatever momentum the offense had when the game was still within reach.
The defense couldn't stop couldn't defend the backfield and was susceptible to the Texans' passing game. Some of that was due to the lack of pass rush and another one to underwhelming play by the secondary. Add Brandon McManus' poor performance (1 missed FG, 1 blocked) and it's easy to see why the Jags loss.
Simply, this isn't the Jaguars team fans expected before the season. The sky isn't falling just yet but things aren't good either. Whatever's not working, the Jaguars must identify it and fix it if they want to extend their losing streak to three games.