How the Jaguars Defense Ended Up on the Wrong Side of History in Texans Defeat

As a unit, the Jaguars' defense only allowed 13 points, but tackling issues were once again a problem all afternoon.

Houston Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce made history Sunday against the Jaguars, forcing 17 missed tackles on runs, the most in a single game in Pro Football Focus' charting history. 

Dameon Pierce: 17 missed tackles forced on runs vs the Jaguars

That’s the most PFF has EVER recorded in a single game 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wXC8LZnEz8

— PFF (@PFF) October 10, 2022

Pierce finished Sunday’s contest with 99 yards on 26 carries (3.8 yards per attempt) with the only touchdown on the afternoon for the Texans. While the efficiency wasn’t pretty, his physicality and aggressive running style gave the Jaguars' defense problems all afternoon.

This much was evident on a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter. With 5:10 to go in the fourth quarter, Dameon Pierce took Jaguars defenders to school, forcing five guys to miss from the line of scrimmage all the way down to inside the Jags' five-yard line to set up a scoring opportunity. For Pierce, that run was a marvelous display of fundamentals.

“It’s all about contact, like if you feel somebody – you just spin out,” Pierce said Sunday. “You got somebody on your leg, pull out. Somebody coming, dip your shoulder, double wrap the ball, just get the YAC (yards after contact) yards, man. It takes time. It definitely comes with time. Like I wouldn’t tell you to go put no pads on and try to go spin out of something, but it comes with time. But there’s ways of maneuvering. There’s a right way of doing things. I think what it comes down to, when me and (the) DB go at it, the only thing (the) DB going to be worried about is me double-wrapping the ball, and that’s what I was really focused about. And the YAC yards are going to come. As long as I’ve got that ball wrapped up, I’m good.”

For the Jaguars, there is simply no excuse to miss that many tackles in quick succession. A play that could’ve been stopped at the line for no gain turned into a 20-yard momentum changer because of poor form and anticipation on every level of the defense.

Despite the tackling issues, the Jaguars still limited the Texans' offense and kept themselves in a position to compete for the win. Head coach Doug Pederson made clear that the defense had a solid showing, but there is still room for improvement.

“I thought they played well,” Pederson said Sunday. “Gosh, that long drive that they had, there were some missed tackles on that one, but I thought overall it obviously kept us in the football game and did some nice things. There [are] still some things we have to clean up. These guys battle. They play hard. They’re physical. It’s a physical group. They cleaned up some of the mistakes from a week ago, but we still have some work to do. We have to get some stuff corrected.”