Texans 13, Jaguars 6: 5 Observations on Lawrence's Let Down, Red-Zone Issues and More

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a golden opportunity to bounce back in Week 5. Instead, they bounced themselves to third in the AFC South thanks to an embarrassing 13-6 loss to the Houston Texans.

Just how bad of a loss was Sunday, and what does it mean for the Jaguars and Doug Pederson as they attempt to move forward? We offer our thoughts below.

Trevor Lawrence has taken a major step back in the last two weeks

Through the first weeks of the 2022 season, Trevor Lawrence looked like he had taken the step everyone in the Jaguars' organization hoped he would take. But during the Jaguars' two-game losing streak, Lawrence has seemingly undone a lot of the positive momentum about his direction as he has turned the ball over seven times and scored just two touchdowns.

There is no glossing over the obvious from Sunday vs. the Texans. Scoring six points in any football setting is losing football. Doing so against a bottom-ranked defense is even worse. And doing so because of one of the worst interceptions any quarterback has thrown this season puts the icing on the cake. Lawrence's red-zone interception to Derek Stingley Jr. was simply a play that no starting quarterback should make -- ever. Lawrence had his fair share of misses and high passes on Sunday, but the back-breaking interception on a play where he could have easily just picked up the first with his legs showed a stunning lack of decision-making in a critical moment.

"I think he would tell you and I'm going to tell you, that you just can't do that deep in the Red Zone like that. That was just unfortunate," Doug Pederson said after the game. "Turnover right there—just can't do it when you are about to score."

Lawrence looked fantastic in the first three weeks. In the last two, his play has fallen off a cliff, and so has his situational awareness. That shouldn't keep happening after 22 career starts. The Jaguars better hope it doesn't continue, or they have tough questions to ask.

The Jaguars' preseason red-zone issues are continuing to rear their ugly heads

Despite gaining 422 yards and finding explosive plays consistently both on the ground and through the air, the Jaguars mustered just six points against the Texans. This was the result of twice turning it over on downs in Houston territory (from the 37 and 38-yard lines) and Lawrence throwing the aforementioned grueling interception. Another possession, the Jaguars got it to Houston's eight-yard line before being forced to kick a field-goal. Finally, they got it to Houston's 26 before stalling out and being forced to kick a field goal.

The Jaguars turned five prime chances in Texans' territory to score touchdowns. Three of those chances were within Houston's 26-yard line. Going 0-for-3 in the red-zone was a continued theme for a Jaguars team that has struggled to convert in the condensed area of the field dating back all the way to training camp.

The Jaguars are 9-of-19 in the red-zone in terms of converting touchdowns. Only nine teams have a lower red-zone success rate than Jacksonville's 47.4%, which would have been No. 30 in the NFL last year -- and worse than last year's Jaguars offense, which scored touchdowns on 51.3% of their red-zone trips.

Jacksonville's red-zone offense was an issue throughout all of training camp, consistently being stood up by the defense in goal-to-goal situations. Then in the preseason, the Jaguars were again forced to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. Now, it is costing them important games in October.

The defense played well and deserved to win, but critical mistakes tarnished an otherwise impressive performance

Overall, the Jaguars' defense played well enough to win on Sunday. They allowed only 13 points, with mire than half of those not coming until the final minutes of the game. If the Jaguars' offense did its job at any point in the game, the Jaguars' defense would have been lauded for shutting down the running game and preventing any long gains in the passing game.

But the margin of error for the defense was at a negative due to the offensive performance. And as a result, several mistakes in critical moments are magnified. Chief among those moments is obviously Travon Walker's unnecessary roughness penalty on 3rd-and-20 on the Texans' game-winning drive, but he wasn't alone.

Tyson Campbell, who otherwise played a good game, allowed a 20-yard reception to Nico Collins on third-down on the same drive as the Walker penalty. Then, the Jaguars allowed an 11-yard completion to Jordan Akins on 3rd-and-10 after a Texans false start. A few plays later, Dameon Pierce broke tackle after tackle on a 20-yard run that got him down to Houston's two-yard line.

Jacksonville's defense played well and doesn't deserve the blunt of the criticism, but there are still important moments the defense needs to prove they can handle themselves in.

Travis Etienne is the hot hand right now over James Robinson

Is there any reason Travis Etienne shouldn't have had 20 touches on Sunday? While the Jaguars were intent on sticking to their game-plan throughout the day, it was obvious that Etienne was the heartbeat of their offense. He rattled off numerous explosive plays on the ground (10 rushes for 71 yards) and through the air (three catches for 43 yards), but the Jaguars never really leaned on him outside of a short span of plays in the first-half.

For as good as James Robinson is, the Jaguars needed a different kind of spark on Sunday. Robinson struggled to get going on the ground (10 rushes for 27 yards), but Etienne seemingly was able to turn every other touch into a big play. The Jaguars have talked about using the hot hand at running back throughout the year, but right now that hot hand is Etienne.

If the Jaguars' offense is going to score points and overcome their self-inflicted mistakes, they will need to get Etienne the ball more. He will have his mistakes, such as his two drops (one of which was almost a fumble), but he will also give the offense life when they need it the most.

Week 6 just became a must-win

The Jaguars have 12 more games left on the docket, but it has quickly become do-or-die time for the 2022 squad. If they want to play meaningful football later in the year and not ask themselves why they got so close but never took advantage of their chances, then they will need to come out of Week 6 with a win.

Lose to the Colts in Week 6 and the heat on Trevor Lawrence continues in a big way. Three-straight losses after a 2-1 start would put the Jaguars at 2-4 and -- at best -- a 1.5 games back in the AFC South after building an early lead in the divisional race. With the Colts sitting half a game ahead of the Jaguars in the standings, they know that their season lives and dies with each divisional game. The same applies to the Jaguars.

If the Jaguars can't beat this Colts team when the stakes are this high, then they have a lot of questions they need to ask themselves. Beat the Colts, and the sting of the last two games erodes. Lose, though? Lose, and the Jaguars can likely kiss the 2022 season goodbye in mid-October.