Jaguars-Texans: 5 Observations

What did we see from the Jacksonville Jaguars in their last-minute 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans?

Sep 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson looks on during the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars are past unraveling. At this point, any hopes of putting the 2024 season together seem far out of reach.

That is the reality the Jacksonville Jaguars find themselves in after Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans. Sitting at 0-4, the Jaguars aren't just at the bottom of the AFC South rankings.

So, what did we make of the Jaguars' latest loss and what it means moving forward? We break it down below.

Jaguars continue to fall victim to one-score games

In one way, the Jaguars are right there. The Jaguars have been more than competitive in three of their four games, holding late leads in Weeks 1 and 4 and having a self-inflicted one-score loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.

Outside of their embarrassing effort in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills, the Jaguars have more than fought in their own weight class.

With that said, it is perhaps even more maddening that the Jaguars are right there. One-score losses made sense in the first year under Doug Pederson, a year where the Jaguars had to shed the Urban Meyer impact.

In 2023, the one-score losses became a bit of a troubling trend, but one that was explained away by injures. Now, though, in the third year of the Pederson regime? These are the games the Jaguars were supposed to learn how to win by now. Everything we have seen in 2024 suggests they haven't.

Doug Pederson is right and wrong at the same time

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson didn't mince words after the game. When asked about him taking over play-calling, Pederson noted that offensive coordinator Press Taylor called "a great game" and that coaches can't make the plays for the players.

And in many ways, Pederson actually made a strong point. Outside of the questionable call here or there, which happens in every single NFL game, the play-calling was not an issue.

But in another sense, Pederson perhaps got a bit too honest. It isn't fair to say he backed the bus over his players, but he did at least put the bus in gear and got his foot close to the pedal.

After an 0-4 start in which the Jaguars are seemingly looking for answers in every corner of the Miller Electric Center, Pederson pointed the fingers at his locker room. How they will respond will likely define his tenure.

The critical mistake the Jaguars made in the second-half

One of the biggest plays any Jaguars player has made in 2024 came directly from second-year running back Tank Bigsby. Bigsby broke free for a 58-yard run toward the end of the third quarter and was just a few yards away from giving the Jaguars a two-score lead late in the game.

It was the biggest run of Bigsby's young career and almost turned the Jaguars' entire season around.

The lone issue with Bigsby's run? The fact the Jaguars kept Bigsby on the field for the next two plays, both handoffs to the young and emerging running back.

The Jaguars prefer to go up-tempo after explosive plays to keep defenses on their heels, but in this instance the Jaguars should have subbed in Travis Etienne or D'Ernest Johnson.

It is a woulda, coulda, shoulda league, but the Jaguars could have potentially gotten the burst they needed on the critical series from running backs who didn't just run nearly 60 yards.

Defense deserves to be commended for second-half performance

The Jaguars offense was diced by C.J. Stroud in the first-half, with the second-year phenom only throwing two incomplete passes as the Texans scored on three of their four first-half possessions. The Jaguars were missing two starting inside linebackers and their two best defensive backs, and it showed up in spades.

With that said, the defense showed up big in the second-half. Despite being heavily depleted to start the game and then losing Josh Hines-Allen to a potential concussion in the second half, the Jaguars forced five straight punts in the second-half and were clearly rattling C.J. Stroud and the Texans' offense up until the final drive. That is one small victory they can take from Sunday.

Jaguars now jockeying for the No. 1 pick

The Jaguars have already held the No. 1 pick twice this decade. Could they do it a third time? As of right now, they are one of just two winless teams in the NFL along with the Tennessee Titans, who are playing the Miami Dolphins' third-string quarterback on Monday Night Football.

As things stand today, there is a very real chance the Jaguars end the season as the NFL's worst team for the third time in five years.

The Jaguars play plenty of tough teams over the second half of the season, with another game against the Houston Texans and games against the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the New York Jets.

They have two games against the Titans that are winnable, but it is a tough slate.

Our Jaguars on SI beat writer John Shipley requested 15 minutes to sit down and discuss with general manager Trent Baalke the future of the franchise.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and never miss another breaking news story again.

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