Texans 13, Jaguars 6: Trevor Lawrence, Offense Sputter in Ugly Loss

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered Sunday as big favorites -- favorited by a touchdown for the first time in nearly three years.

But in one of the most disappointing and let-down performances by the franchise in recent years, the Jaguars again failed to answer the moment, losing 13-6 to the previously winless Houston Texans to drop to 2-3.

Jacksonville's first defensive series ended with a quick three-and-out, forcing two Davis Mills incompletions with a batted ball by Adam Gotsis and a pass-breakup on Brandin Cooks on third-down by Darious Williams.

The Jaguars' offense continued its first-drive struggles, though, matching the Texans with a three-and-out of their own after Zay Jones failed to come down with a high pass from Trevor Lawrence on third-down.

Lawrence and the Jaguars were pushed all the way back to their three-yard line on their second drive after forcing a punt and having it land right in front of the end zone. The Jaguars were able to at least push it into Texans' territory with Travis Etienne racking up 48 yards on two runs, including a 30-yard run down the left sideline.

But just as he missed high on the first drive, Lawrence again missed an open receiver due to a high pass. This time it was a wide-open Marvin Jones, with Lawrence's high pass nearly being picked off after it floated over Jones' head. After a short pass to Zay Jones before the sticks led to a punt, the Jaguars pinned the ball on Houston's end zone with a punt to their three-yard line.

After forcing another Texans punt (the third in the first three drives), Jacksonville's offense finally began to wake up thanks to more explosive plays from Etienne, who caught a 20-yard pass to get the Jaguars past midfield after one play.

Despite the Jaguars using Etienne and James Robinson to get them down to the eight-yard line, Jacksonville failed to come way with a touchdown as Lawrence misfired on second-down and then was forced to roll out and throw it away on third-down as the Jaguars started 0-for-3 on the money down.

After settling for a 26-yard Riley Patterson field goal to take the early lead, the Jaguars saw the Texans match with their own 50-yard field goal thanks to two explosive runs from Dameon Pierce. With the game tied after the first 18 minutes, it became clear the Jaguars were not going to just walk over Houston.

The Jaguars' offense had a chance to make their stamp on the game and build a lead, but again wasted explosive plays and left points on the field. After a Marvin Jones' pick up of 37 yards, the Jaguars' offense again stalled in the red-zone. '

This led to Doug Pederson calling for the Jaguars to go for it on 4th-and-4 from Houston's 37-yard line, but the Jaguars again slipped up with a chance to score, this time in the way of a Lawrence incompletion to Christian Kirk.

Jacksonville was able to tie the game entering halftime at 6-6 thanks to a 45-yard Patterson field goal, but it still felt like they left points on the field. Lawrence and Eteinne connected through the air for a completion on third-down to convert for a new set of downs, but a holding call on Jawaan Taylor wiped it out. On the next play, Etienne dropped the third-and-long pass and nearly fumbled it away.

Despite 11 first downs, 236 yards, 99 yards on the ground, and four passes of at least 20 yards being completed, the Jaguars mustered just six points in the first half. They outplayed the Texans, but not enough to pull ahead.

The ugly, downright anemic red-zone offense didn't just rear its ugly head in the first-half, though. The Jaguars put together a great drive to open the second-half, with big Etienne runs and a 28-yard pass from Lawrence to Engram getting the Jaguars into Texans territory.

But on 2nd-and-1 from Houston's seven-yard line, Lawrence made arguably his worst mistake of not just the 2022 season, but of his career. Breaking out of the pocket with a chance to get the first down with his legs, Lawrence attempted to fit a pass to Zay Jones in the right corner of the end zone, making it an easy interception from Texans rookie cornerback Derek Stingley.

Jacksonville forced a punt but things didn't look up on the next drive. The Jaguars again marched into Texans territory, getting it all the way to their 38-yard line to set up a 4th-and-1. But instead of lining it up to power up the middle or even giving the ball to Etienne, the Jaguars opted for a read-option look out of a shotgun formation, a play that resulted in the Jaguars' line getting stood up and Robinson stuffed for a gain of zero and a turnover.

A Foye Oluokun sack on Davis Mills to kick off the next drive helped the Jaguars get the ball back, but an early Zay Jones drop and then a 12-men in the huddle penalty led to the Jaguars punting for the third time in the game.

Jacksonville's defense continued to stiffen despite the Texans picking up 20 yards through the air on third-down to Nico Collins. They forced the Texans into a 3rd-and-20 after making the Houston offense look hapless on two plays in a row, but then Travon Walker made a rookie mistake that no player should ever make.

After Walker jumped early and was already set to be called for a neutral-zone infraction, the rookie pass-rusher had Mills in his grasp and violently threw him to the ground, resulting in an roughness penalty and an automatic first down.

The penalty went on to haunt the Jaguars, with Pierce fighting his way in for a one-yard touchdown seven plays later. The Jaguars had their chances to stop Pierce, and the rookie running back nearly fumbled on the rush before his touchdown before Pederson lost the challenge, but their efforts came up fruitless.

Lawrence and the offense got the ball back with 3:07 left and a chance to win or tie the game on the final drive for the third time this season. But just as it has gone the other two times, the opportunity came and went with swiftness as Lawrence missed several passes, including a fourth-down heave to Evan Engram on 4th-and-10 despite having options underneath.

Jacksonville forced a punt, but Lawrence and the offense sputtered until a final Hail Mary attempt was picked off by Desmond King. Lawrence finished the day 25-of-47 (53.2%) for 286 yards and two interceptions, giving him a quarterback rating of 54. In the past two games, Lawrence has turned it over seven times after one turnover in the first three.

Despite the Jaguars outgaining Houston 422-248, Houston made fewer mistakes. And once again, the Jaguars looked like the team everyone once said they were -- not the team they are hoping to become.

The Jaguars will next travel to play the Indianapolis Colts.

Stats of the Game (10/9/22 vs. Texans) Via: @theryanmichael

Trevor Lawrence threw for 0 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions—one a red zone turnover and the other on a last-second Hail Mary attempt.

Lawrence (5,265) put up 315 total yards of offense, eclipsing 5,000 in his NFL career.

Lawrence’s 286 passing yards were a career-high at home in Jacksonville at TIAA Bank Stadium.

Travis Etienne led the team in rushing yards (71), Lawrence led the team in yards-per-carry (7.3).

After dropping 6 passes last week, the Jaguars dropped 7 more passes this week. They led the NFL in drops last season.

Marvin Jones led the Jaguars in receptions (7) and receiving yards (104 yards). Jones (1,040) became the 29th player in franchise history to eclipse 1,000 yards as a Jaguar.

Rayshawn Jenkins led the Jaguars defense with 12 total tackles.

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