Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. is tackled by Houston Texans linebacker Will Anderson Jr. and former Jaguar Shaquille Griffin. The Jacksonville Jaguars lost 37-17 to the Houston Texans on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. The defeat was the second straight home loss at EverBank Stadium for the Jaguars. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on September 24, 2023 at 9:04 pm
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In the course of three hours on Sunday’s sun-soaked afternoon, the Jaguars’ season took a dramatic turn.
Facing the perennial thorn in their side, the Houston Texans, the Jaguars saw their path to the playoffs turn into a dark and uncertain direction. Considering the expectations this season, it was one of the worst losses in Jaguars history by both performance and outcome.
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In the 37-17 loss to Houston, the Jaguars committed every flavor of unforced error imaginable.
A missed field goal. Another one blocked. Two dropped passes by wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who also committed a pair of false start penalties.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence stepped on the foot of running back Travis Etienne on a third-and-one play, tripping Etienne up short of the first down.
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Later, on a fourth down play, Ridley picked up the first down, but it was called back on a hands-to-the-face penalty on right guard Brandon Scherff.
Then, when the Jaguars offense finally got things rolling with just over a minute to play before halftime, Jamal Agnew fumbled it away, leading to a Texans field goal at the end of the half.
It got so bad that there was a fight in the expensive west club seats.
That was all in the first 30 minutes.
By halftime, the Jaguars trailed 17-0.
The offense showed some life after halftime, scoring 10 points on their first two drives. But then another calamity happened.
Instead of having kicker Brandon McManus boot the kickoff through the end zone, the Jaguars opted for a directional kick to an upback. It came down in the hands of Houston fullback Andrew Beck, who fumbled and then recovered the ball. He then proceeded to break tackles and outrun the entirety of the Jaguars’ coverage team to the end zone. 85 yards. A fullback.
Most of the game felt like it came from a season Jaguars fans would rather forget. Pick one.
Losing to the Texans means the Jaguars can’t consider themselves among the AFC’s elite teams. Not now. They are now in a position they were for much of last season, searching for answers to questions they thought had been settled. Especially, but not solely, on offense.
Can the Jaguars turn their season around? Of course they can. But it will take a reset of the team’s focus, commitment, and approach. The Jaguars are losing games in the trenches and making mistakes on top of that. It’s the kind of formula teams who are eliminated from playoff contention around Thanksgiving follow.
Are the Jaguars truly a contender? Or was the last half of last year a flash in the pan? I don’t think it was, but after the start of this season, the possibility has to be considered.
The Jaguars will travel to London to play games the next two Sundays. Once they return from their U.K. trip, we’ll likely know everything we need to know about who they really are.Â
Lead image: Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. is tackled by Houston Texans linebacker Will Anderson Jr. and former Jaguar Shaquille Griffin on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Cole Pepper has covered sports in Jacksonville since 1996, most recently for News4Jax. He is currently broadcast director for Sporting Club Jacksonville and has called play-by-play for a number of teams, including the Suns, Tomcats, Jacksonville University, Sharks and The Bolles School football. He also served as the studio host for the Jaguars Radio Network.
