Where Did Christian Kirk Go Against the Texans, and How Can the Jaguars Get Him Back?

The Jacksonville Jaguars offense went on a milk carton in Week 5.

Whether it was going 0-for-3 in the red-zone, scoring just six points against a bad defense or going 0-for-3 on fourth-down, the Jaguars failed again and again in critical situations. And with the disappearance of their offense came the untimely disappearance of wide receiver Christian Kirk, who had one of the least productive days of his career in the 13-6 loss.

Kirk was targeted just three times in the contest -- eight fewer times than Marvin Jones, seven fewer times than Evan Engram and five fewer times than Zay Jones. all despite him leading the Jaguars in routes run. In those three targets, Kirk caught one pass for 11 yards and, ultimately, only saw one catchable target on the day.

Kirk, who the Jaguars signed to a four-year, $72 million deal with $37 million guaranteed this March, averaged nine targets per game over the first month of the season and was never targeted fewer than six times in any of the first four games. But on a day where the Jaguars struggled in the red-zone and on critical downs, their best receiver wasn't getting looked at.

“Yeah, it was unfortunate when during the week you anticipate a certain structure, and you have some plays designed for Christian and then they come out and play that shell Cover-2," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday. "It took away a few of those plays, and then we still have to find the ways to get Christian the football."

It wasn't as if Kirk had issues with drops such as the week before when he saw nine targets. This week, Kirk was simply not a focal point of the offense, with the Jaguars rarely designing plays that had him as the primary option.

Part of this was due to Houston's defense, of course. Their Cover 2 scheme won't ever ask an inside linebacker to run with Kirk in man-coverage like the Colts and Commanders' defenses often did. But Kirk still got open at a solid-enough rate, earning an average separation figure of 3.0 yards according to NFL's Next Generation Stats. This was the same as Engram, just below Zay Jones, and better than Marvin Jones; so it wasn't like he wasn't open.

In terms of Kirk's career production in 61 career regular-season games, Sunday stood out in the worst ways. There are only six other games in his career where he caught one or fewer passes, six other games where he saw three or fewer targets, and eight games where he recorded fewer than 11 receiving yards.

Sunday wasn't just Kirk's least productive game as a Jaguar -- it was one of the least productive of his career, and hardly to fault of his own.

"He’s such a dynamic player for us that we’re doing everything we can to get him the football," Pederson said.

"You don’t ever want to be in a situation where he has three or four targets. He needs to be up there, nine, ten, eleven targets possibly. Being able to spread the ball around, too. As it was, there were some opportunities and we just missed on them.”

So, how can the Jaguars get Kirk back on track vs. the Colts? They can, of course, utilize him how they did in Week 2, utilizing matchup advantages pre-snap to get him the ball. Motion could also be more helpful in Week 6 than in Week 5 considering Houston's defensive structure was rarely stressed by Kirk's pre-snap movement.

But the most important thing the Jaguars can do to get Kirk back is to simply have more consistent play from Trevor Lawrence. Kirk had no chance on two of his targets on Sunday, meaning he only really had one shot at a catch in the entire 60-minute affair.

The Jaguars can look to Week 2 to get Kirk back on track. They can continue to make him a focal point instead of opting to devote multiple targets to Chris Manhertz and Dan Arnold. But more importantly, Lawrence can throw him more accurate passes.

"Obviously, there's always a few plays that you go back and look, and you wish you would have gone somewhere else with the ball, taken a throw here or there. I think really I missed a few throws today more so than anything," Lawrence said on Sunday.

"Early, like I said, I forced a couple down field that I could have just kept us on schedule and got settled into the game. I could have done a better job there. Really seeing the defense, I thought I did a good job. I think I just missed a few throws. Like I said, we just didn't make the plays that were there all the way around. There's a lot out there. When you watch the tape, it's going to be frustrating because you leave a lot out there. Like you said, I'm seeing it. I feel good about that. I work hard during the week to be prepared and to see the looks and to be able to react whenever I see certain coverages. I thought for the most part I saw them, but I've got to be quicker in some of my progressions and just be more accurate overall."

If the Jaguars are going to get their best receiver back on track in Week 6, it will take getting Lawrence back on track, too.