Another Rough Outing For Houston Texans in 1st Half vs. Jaguars

Houston Texans' tackling, ball security, strategy all substandard Sunday, falling behind 21-0 at halftime

HOUSTON -- Instead of another competitive outing, the Houston Texans nosedived Sunday against the streaking Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Texans, behind a costly fumble, inexplicable red-zone strategy and shoddy tackling, fell behind 21-0 at halftime to the Jaguars. The Jaguars, competing for the AFC South division title in a showdown next week against the Tennessee Titans, are on their way toward snapping a nine-game losing streak to the 2-12-1 Texans.

The Texans, who are in a position to earn the top overall pick of the draft with the worst record in the NFL, are coming off a win over the Titans and beat the Jaguars earlier this season. Competitive in recent weeks in narrow losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans, the Texans have been anything but close against the Jaguars on Sunday.

Between quarterback Davis Mills’ lost fumble on an attempted pass scooped up by corner Tyson Campbell for a touchdown and several missed tackles by the defense, including rookie safety Jalen Pitre, the Texans have struggled mightily against the visiting Jaguars.

Despite an interception by Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on an errant pass nowhere near his intended receiver picked off by cornerback Desmond King, the Texans squandered a prime scoring opportunity.

They reached the red zone but came away with no points. There was a head-scratching play call by offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton as a Mills lob on 4th-and-5 to 32-year-old running back Rex Burkhead in the end zone fell incomplete and the Jaguars took over on downs.

The Texans were in a position to potentially get on the scoreboard had coach Lovie Smith called for a short field goal, but instead

Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr, having a strong second NFL season, has rushed for 108 yards on nine carries. He scored on a 62-yard touchdown sprint as Pitre missed the tackle in the open field along with King. Etienne also has 32 receiving yards on three catches on three targets.

The Jaguars got another touchdown on a run by JaMycal Hasty to open the game’s scoring.

Mills has completed just 8 of 16 passes for 58 yards for a 58.9 passer rating.

The Texans have rushed for just 45 yards on 15 carries, including 18 yards by Dare Ogunbowale on six carries.

Backup quarterback Jeff Driskel has run for seven yards on two carries and incomplete on his one pass attempt as wide receiver Phillip Dorsett dropped the football near the sideline.

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