Jaguars Win Ugly
Jacksonville Beats Houston with Late TD
The Jacksonville offense did just enough Sunday, taking down the Houston Texans 17-10 in an ugly AFC South tilt at EverBank Stadium.
Jacksonville (2-1) scored on their second offensive possession, helped by passes to Brian Thomas Jr. and Parker Washington that set the home team up inside the 20.
A pass interference call on Houston put the ball at the one, and Bhayshul Tuten ran it in to cap a 9-play, 58 yard touchdown drive.
That was a good start for Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but that was where his highlights ended as far as the first half was concerned. He started 6-for-7, but then went 5-for-14 to end the first half.
Travon Walker and Devin Lloyd combined to sack Texans QB C.J. Stroud on the next Houston Drive, resulting in a punt.
The next Houston possession was a methodical one, as they went 71 yards in 13 plays, coming away with a field goal, and closing the gap to 7-3.
The rest of the first half was borderline horrible. The Jaguars had the ball with 4:13 left and by the time that drive ended in a punt, they were staring at a 4th-&-31.
No, that's not a misprint. The half did eventually end with that 7-3 score and the Jaguars had 11 yards rushing to go with Lawrence's first half struggles. Jacksonville punted five times in the first 30 minutes.
Jacksonville got into field goal range on their first drive of the second half. They were given a second chance to put six on the board when the Texans were called for leverage, giving Jacksonville a fresh set of downs at the Texans 19. It didn't matter, with the offense stalled again, Cam Little kicked a 39-yard FG to give the Jags’ a 10-3 lead with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
After another punt by Houston, Jacksonville was poised to put three more on the board, but the usually sure-footed Little missed a field goal attempt and the lead remained seven.
Houston (0-3) were driving to start the fourth quarter, but the Jaguars defense stopped them in their tracks, thanks to a Jordan Lewis interception. Keeping with the theme of the day, Jacksonville couldn't capitalize and had to punt.
After the teams traded punts, Houston got an interception of their own, into the hands of Jalen Pitre.
It took just one play for a Texans offense that had been listless, to spring to life. Stroud found Nico Collins on a deep 50-yard bomb to tie the game 10-10 with 9:17 left in regulation.
Jaguars coach Liam Coen has been fearless early in this season going for it on fourth down. He did it on the next Jaguars drive, but Lawrence was under pressure on 4th-&-2, resulting in an incompletion and a turnover on downs.
The Texans ensuing drive started at their own 47. On 3rd-&-2 at the Jaguars 31, Stroud found Collins on a big pass play, but Tyson Campbell punched the ball out and it was recovered by Lloyd with 3:58 left.
The Jaguars went run heavy to start the drive, helped by a 10-yard scamper by Lawrence. Just prior to the 2-minute warning, Lawrence found Thomas Jr. on a short pass over the middle and he sped away from the defense for 46 yards, down to the Houston 10. Travis Etienne ran it in on the next play, pretty much uncontested, as the Texans appeared to let him score in order to save time. That put the Jaguars up 17-10 with 1:48 left, capping an 83-yard drive.
Stroud led his squad to the Jaguars 37 and threw a pass intended for former Jaguar Christian Kirk. The pass looked like it may have been tipped and it ended up in the hands of Jaguars defender Antonio Johnson. Houston wanted pass interference, and would have had a case, except for the tip of the pass by Josh Hines-Allen.
From there, it was a kneel down and a Jaguars victory.
On a day that the offense struggled for both teams, it was the defense that saved the Jaguars when it mattered most. Jacksonville was swept by the Texans last season, so this was huge. It was also huge because it kept the Texans winless.
Link to Liam Coen Press Conference
https://www.jaguars.com/video/k000474-liam-coen-week-3-player-performances-texans-press-conference
Yet again, this performance or lack there of leaves a lot of questions for Coen and his coaching staff. The lack of continuity on offense is concerning. It's not just this game, but all three games. Coen and Lawrence downplayed it when Lawrence waived off Coen last week against Cincinnati as Coen was yelling at him. That was not nothing. Coach and quarterback are not in sync, and three weeks in, it cannot be ignored.
Lawrence finished 20-for-40 for 222 yards and no touchdowns. Thankfully, his running backs bailed him out. Etienne had 56 yards on 16 carries and a TD, and Tuten had 6 carries for 21 yards and a TD.
Brenton Strange continued to impress, catching six balls for 61 yards to lead the team.
Jacksonville won't have long to fix what ails them. They will head to Santa Clara, CA next Sunday for a 4:05 EST game against the 49ers.