Jags 17 Houston 10: Post Game Recap

Not the win we expected but definitely the win we needed. This game showed the value of this coaching staff and the improvement (yes improvement) of Trevor Lawrence. I'll also add that while fans might have come away happy with the offense, they should be extremely excited about this defense. Folks this is a championship level defense. They flat out win games.

A long field goal miss by the Texans on their second drive gave the Jaguars offense the short field they needed. A Tuten rushing TD gave the Jaguars and early 7-0 lead in the first. Outside of a lone field goal drive the Jaguars defense gave Houston nothing to work with. A Travon Walker sack on the next Houston drive would set the tone for the rest of the day. He and Josh Hines-Allen lived in the back field and did a great job of speeding Stroud up all day. A truly dominant day for the Jaguars defensive line. Houston would get a field goal and that ended the scoring for the first half as the next 7 minutes of the 2nd quarter was an absolute punt fest for both teams. Stroud struggled to have any time at all in the pocket and looked inaccurate when he did have a man open. The Jaguars couldn't get anything going on the ground and Lawrence was hampered by some awful drops by his receivers.

The 3rd quarter wasn't much better for either offense. The Jaguars took the first 8:37 of the quarter to march into field goal range where more drops killed the drive and they had to settle for a field goal. The Texans next drive was killed by an offensive facemask and then a Josh-Hines Allen and Arik Armstead sack. The final drive of the half ended in a missed field goal by Cam Little that hooked badly left.

Houston looked like they were driving to start the 4th but CJ Stroud threw an INT with his team in field goal range to end the threat. Jourdan Lewis, who might be in the conversation for best FA signing in the NFL this year, made a great read on the play and sat right underneath a crossing route. Stroud had no idea Lewis would be there and Lewis made him pay. That was the good for the Jags now here comes some bad. The offense did absolutely nothing with the ball on the next drive due to some horrific drops. The WRs (especially BTJ) were absolutely terrible for about a 10 minute stretch in Jacksonville. After trading punts the Jaguars got the ball back with just under 10 minutes to play in the 4th. Any sort of offensive drive taking time off the clock and scoring any points almost seals the game for you. The next series went as follows. Bad drop. Bad drop. Forced ball into double coverage by Lawrence and an INT. This was really Lawrence's only mistake of the day and it couldn't have been worse looking. The Texans would then score on the Jaguars first missed assignment of the day with Stroud throwing a long TD to Collins to tie the score up.

With 15+ years of experience as a Jags fan I was confident they were going to lose this game. They've never won these type of games before. With 6:18 left in the 4th the Jags went for it on 4th and Lawrence had his pass batted down at the line. The Texans had every opportunity to slit the Jags throats in a game that might have killed the season and any good will they had built going forward. Instead Tyson Campbell, who played one of the worst games of his career just last week, makes the play of the game, stripping Nico Collins of the ball. Devin Lloyd added a fumble recovery to his growing list of accolades this season, and the Jags took over with a chance to win. The Jaguars offense then put together its most impressive drive of the season to go win the game. Lawrence and Brian Thomas Jr were finally able to connect for a big gain on a slant over the middle. Ettiene then put the Jags up 17-10 a few plays later on a 9yd rushing TD. Hines-Allen would then deflect a ball in Stroud's hand leading to an Antonio Johnson INT to seal the game.

I know the stats aren't going to be pretty. I know Lawrence's stats are going to make it looked like he sucked. But trust me Jaguars fans this win means a lot going forward. I haven't seen a coaching staff or a team that can go out and get that kind of win for a long time in Jacksonville. If this season results in a playoff berth, like I think it will, we should look back on this game and those last 3 drives and how important for this young team. Amazing win Jags fans. On to San Francisco next week and a big test on the road against the 49ers! You stay classy, Jacksonville!