Game of Inches: 5 Observations From Jaguars' 27-25 Loss to the Texans

The Jacksonville Jaguars came as close as they have since Week 1, but they were unable to pull out a victory in Week 9, falling 27-25 to the Houston Texans in Jacksonville.

At 1-7 and with their next game set to be a road test against the Green Bay Packers, things are looking rather bleak for the Jaguars' short-term fortunes. With that in mind, there are still going to be noteworthy takeaways from each Sunday clash, and this week is no different.

So, what are our observations on Jacksonville's latest loss? We break it down here.

Jake Luton didn't set the world on fire, but he impressed in a big way considering the situation

While Jake Luton wasn't Joe Montana on Sunday, he didn't need to be. As a sixth-round rookie with zero previous NFL reps (no preseason in 2020), nobody would have been surprised to see Luton struggle to complete a pass on Sunday. Instead, the rookie passer gave the Jaguars a legitimate chance to win the game, leading them on five scoring drives. One of the said drives was a seven-play, 80-yard drive in which Luton directed them downfield before scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run to make it 27-25. Had the Jaguars made the two-point conversion, or had they not missed a point after attempt earlier in the game, Luton would have sent the Jaguars into overtime.

Luton's numbers (68.4 completion %, 8.0 yards per attempt, 304 yards and two total touchdowns) are more than respectable. His 73-yard touchdown pass to DJ Chark was a frozen rope that hit his receiver in stride on just how second-ever NFL pass attempt. The consistency wasn't there, as expected, but Luton's floor was high. With his rate of downfield throws, so is his ceiling. He didn't play a perfect game, but he was never expected to -- instead he played his game and impressed while doing so.

Wk 9 Leaders in Big Time Throws ahead of MNF:
🔹 Jake Luton - 4
🔹 Derek Carr - 4
🔹 Aaron Rodgers - 4 pic.twitter.com/e86sznRgwT
— PFF (@PFF) November 9, 2020

The 2019 version of DJ Chark returned on Sunday

Outside of a Week 4 game against the Bengals in which he scored twice, DJ Chark had mostly been quiet during the 2020 season. This was in large part due to him and Gardner Minshew having poor chemistry and simply never being on the same page, but Chark was also struggling with his own consistency. On Sunday in Jacksonville, though, this changed in a big way as Chark returned to his 2019 Pro Bowl form and caught seven passes for 146 yards and a touchdown.

After his previous game-high in receiving yards this season came in Week 4 (95 yards), blew this figure out of the water and hit the century mark for the first time this season. There wasn't much that changed in Jacksonville's approach to getting Chark involved; he still saw the vast majority of Jacksonville's downfield passes and was asked more often than not to win one-on-ones instead of being schemed easy throws. Chark simply had his way with Houston's defensive backs on Sunday and made nearly every play that was asked of him, resulting in the Jaguars getting the 2019 version of Chark for at least a week.

Myles Jack: still Jacksonville's best player

For the first quarter of the 2020 season, it was clear that Myles Jack was more than just Jacksonville's best linebacker or defender. He was their best player and, in many ways, was the best linebacker in the NFL through the first several weeks of the season. Nagging ankle injuries impacted him in a big way over the next several weeks, resulting in Jack missing two games and leaving one game early. Jack displayed how dominant he can be when healthy during Sunday's loss, however, once again showing he is still the best player on this roster.

Against Houston, Jack flew all over the field making plays. There was one two-play sequence in which he made a tackle for loss on second down and then hit the running back hard enough to force an incompletion on third down, showing just how balanced he is. Jack led the Jaguars with 11 tackles, including one tackle for loss, and has now tallied double-digit tackles in four of six games this season. He also forced a fumble by simply ripping the ball out of Duke Johnson's hands, one of the best plays a Jaguars defender has made this season. Jack continues to be an impact player at weak side linebacker.

Doug Marrone has more than a right to be upset about the missed delay of game, but that doesn't excuse the score

We have been covering the Jaguars since Week 1 in 2019. That isn't a long period of time, but it is 24 regular season games worth of a sample size. In those 24 games, we have never seen Marrone as upset and animated as he was with 6:16 left in the third quarter. With the Texans facing a third-down, the play clock hit zero and the Texans failed to snap the ball for even several seconds after that. It was a clear delay of game, but the line judge didn't call it, resulting in the play being snapped without a flag. Moments later, Will Fuller caught a pass over CJ Henderson and scored from 77 yards out.

"Yeah, they—nope, none," Marrone said after the game when asked if he got an explanation from the officials. "I mean, they didn’t see it. There’s only one person responsible for it. That’s what he—the back judge is responsible for the play clock. The other officials don’t look at it, it’s only one person.”

It was an inexcusable no-call from the officials. There is zero debating that. Marrone has more than a right to be upset; that play helped decide the end result and it simply should have never happened.

With that said, the touchdown still shouldn't have happened. The Jaguars can't control what the officials do, but they can control what they do. It isn't the official's fault that CJ Henderson made a glaringly poor play on the ball, letting Fuller get inside leverage and win the ball in the air. The play shouldn't have been snapped, but Henderson also should have played it much better.

Will Fuller V

Will score VI

📺: CBS
📱: https://t.co/Nm64mQkAPf pic.twitter.com/UtcUQN3vGU
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 8, 2020

The defensive strategy changed dramatically, both a good sign and a frustrating indictment

For anyone who has watched Jacksonville's defensive over the last few seasons, it has been clear as day what their strategy is to get pressure. They want to send four at the quarterback and drop seven in coverage, giving their secondary and linebackers a chance to limit big plays while the defensive line gets after the quarterback. This clearly wasn't working in 2020, however, as a mixture of regressions at cornerback and defensive line led the Jaguars to having the league's second-worst adjusted sack rate heading into Week 9. The Jaguars clearly saw this issue during the bye week and Todd Wash decided to implement a much more extensive blitz package, with Myles Jack, Joe Schobert, Jarrod Wilson and Tre Herndon all making plays after blitzing.

As a result of the increased blitz rate, the Jaguars were in Watson's face more often than not on Sunday. He was only sacked twice, but he was pressured often. So on one hand, Wash and the Jaguars deserve credit for finally flipping the script on defense to ensure they can get to the quarterback. With that said, should they be given credit for making an obvious move so many weeks after it should have been made? It was the right move, but it was much, much too late.

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