Jaguars fans rightly incensed over inconsistent officiating in loss vs. Texans

There's a lot of blame to pass around after the ugly 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 4. Several players failed to execute and the playcalling on offense was less than ideal, even if head coach Doug Pederson doesn't want to admit it and believes Press Taylor did a fine job. Heck, the defense also struggled to contain C.J. Stroud at times. Another thing that played a role in the outcome of the game was the officiating, which certainly favored the Jags' division foes.

Rookie Brian Thomas Jr. had yet another productive outing, hauling six passes for 86 yards with one touchdown. However, he also had a play negated because he used a gun celebration. That's understandable. After all, officiating crews usually crack down on excessive celebration, and the gesture the former LSU Tiger made — emulating a gun — could be interpreted as violent.

The issue isn't that Thomas drew a flag for the celebration. The problem was that different Texans players made the same gesture and weren't flagged for it. Heck, the rookie receiver himself celebrated in a similar manner in the preseason and wasn't penalized for it. Jaguars fans certainly noticed the discrepancy and let their displeasure known on social media.

Heck, Twitter user @RobotJaguars collected the evidence, posting the three instances where Texans players made the gesture and weren't penalized.

Following the game, Brian Thomas Jr. was asked whether the officiating crew gave him an explanation for the penalty flag. They didn't.

A first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Thomas has caught 17 passes for 275 yards with three touchdowns. However, the losses have overshadowed just how big of an impact he's had this season. Compounding the issue is that Trevor Lawrence hasn't been great. Yet, he's routinely found success when he's connected with the rookie wideout.

Good officiating or not, the Jaguars didn't do enough to beat the Texans in Week 4

Sure, Houston got a break on three plays, but what about the rest of the game? Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis were responsible for drops. Lawrence overthrew Kirk on a pass that would've been good for a massive game. The playcalling wasn't much better.

The Jaguars were gaining over five yards per carry but suddenly decided to start throwing even though they were still leading until late in the third quarter. Heck, the defense also had trouble stopping the Texans' offense in the first half. This is to say that everyone, and that includes head coach Doug Pederson, had a role in the loss. Having said that, it does sting to see the officiating being overly inconsistent and favoring the opposing team.

Ultimately, though the Jags cannot just blame the refs for the outcome of the game. Heck, the officiating wasn't a factor in the past three games and they still lost. When they go over the tape of the matchup, they cannot just complain about how the zebras robbed them of their first win of the season.

Sure, it hurts but the best teams manage to overcome bad officiating. The Jacksonville Jaguars aren't currently a good team. If you want to know the biggest reason they're 0-4, look at head coach Doug Pederson, even if he thinks that would be strange.

More Jaguars analysis here: