The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) couldn’t get out of their own way against the Houston Texans (0-3), but it still resulted in a win, 17-10.
The Jaguars entered Sunday’s game reeling from a heartbreaking loss against the Cincinnati Bengals last week. The team felt it dropped the ball in more ways than one.
However, despite many mistakes, the team was able to overcome the Texans in the end, giving the Jaguars plenty to learn from moving forward.
Jaguars defense holds Texans offense back, Travis Hunter starts
After starting on offense in the first two contests, rookie receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter started this week’s contest on defense.
Hunter totaled four tackles in the first half. He also made plays on the offensive side of the ball and had one catch for 21 yards.
Jacksonville’s defense stymied Houston’s offense for the majority of the contest.
No play was bigger than at the end when Antonio Johnson intercepted CJ Stroud in the red zone as the Texans were driving, allowing the Jags to take a knee for the victory.
In the first half, Houston totaled seven first downs, converted just three first downs and had 107 total net yards at the end of the first half.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud totaled just 69 yards on 13 completions in the first half. He was sacked once by defensive end Travon Walker.
Jacksonville forced four punts in the first half and benefited from a missed field goal on Houston’s second possession of the game.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis undercut Texans WR Christian Kirk’s route for an easy interception in Jacksonville territory, keeping the team’s lead 10-7 with 13:48 remaining.
Jacksonville held Houston until the AFC South foe capitalized on a Lawrence interception and turned it into a 50-yard pitch-and-catch from Stroud to WR Nico Collins to tie the game at 10-10.
Unforced errors: Jaguars offense continues undiciplined play
Jacksonville’s offense was anemic after its second drive of the game, which resulted in a touchdown.
The Jaguars punted four times to end the first half and totaled 24 net yards after the team’s 58-yard touchdown drive.
Lawrence completed just 11 of 22 passes in the first half for 90 yards, essentially a non-factor. The team’s rushing attack didn’t help, either, tallying just 11 yards in the first half. The team’s 11 first-half rushing total was the worst thus far this season.
Jacksonville entered the game as the second-best rushing team in the league by yards.
Jacksonville’s offensive woes weren’t just because they couldn’t make plays; however, the team sustained too many unforced errors.
On one drive, tight end Brenton Strange was called for a false start, putting the team behind the sticks. The drive ended in a punt. The same happened on a later drive with a tight end Johnny Mundt false start, ending in a 4th and 31 and a punt.
One of the most egregious fouls was an illegal shift penalty called with 3:22 remaining in the first half. The foul wiped out an 18-yard catch and run by Brian Thomas Jr. The foul was called on WR Dyami Brown.
In addition to more drops by both Parker Washington and Thomas, Lawrence threw an interception.
Lawrence finished 20 of 40 for 222 yards and an interception.
Special teams does Jaguars no favor in first half vs. Texans
The Jaguars used to have something to hang their hat on if both sides of the ball couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. In the first half against Houston, the team wasn’t successful on punts or returns.
The Jaguars had two special teams penalties in the first half, one was called on Ventrell Miller, an illegal block above the waist, which pushed Jacksonville back from their 41-yard line to the 31 as the first quarter was set to expire.
On the punting side of things, punter Logan Cooke appeared to struggle, recording a touchback that led to a Texans field goal, and two kicks that went for fewer than 50 yards. Cooke’s final punt of the first half resulted in Houston taking the ball at their 18-yard line when they could have been pinned back.
Jacksonville’s return game didn’t do the team any favors, either, with receiver Parker Washington returning just one punt for four yards in the first half.
Jaguars kicker Cam Little nailed a 39-yard field goal before missing a 47-yard kick late in the third quarter. It was Little’s first miss dating back to last season’s Week 13 contest against Houston. He had made 17 in a row until the miss.
Little had made all seven of his kicks this season.
Brian Thomas Jr.’s drops continue, but he bounces back
Last week, Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. had the worst performance of his career, dropping multiple balls, including what could have been a touchdown.
That continued against Houston, with Thomas dropping three passes, including one that later resulted in Thomas throwing his helmet on the sideline.
Thomas redeemed himself, though, making a 46-yard gain to set Jacksonville up for a walk-in touchdown by running back Travis Etienne in the fourth quarter. The Texans let him score to get the ball back with around 1:42 left in the game.
The Jaguars led 17-10.
Antonio John’s big play saved the day
After the Jaguars took the lead, they kicked off and the Texans got the ball at the 26 with 1:48 remaining and two timeouts.
The Texans moved the ball quickly downfield, going 46 yards in just 1 minute, 12 seconds.
However, CJ Stroud was pressured and threw a pass that was picked off by Johnson at the 4-yard line. The Jags took a knee and ran out the clock.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars hold on to beat Houston Texans 17-10
Reporting by Demetrius Harvey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
