Five observations on the Jacksonville Jaguars' loss to the Houston Texans

The Jacksonville Jaguars are no longer finished. At this point, any hopes of putting together the 2024 season seem far out of reach.

That's the reality the Jacksonville Jaguars find themselves in after Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans. With a score of 0:4, the Jaguars are not only at the bottom of the AFC South rankings.

So what did we make of the Jaguars' recent loss and what does it mean for the future? We explain it below.

The Jaguars continue to fall victim to one-score games

In a way, it's the Jaguars Right There. The Jaguars were more than competitive in three of their four games, taking late leads in Weeks 1 and 4 and suffering a self-inflicted one-point loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.

Aside from their embarrassing Week 3 performance against the Buffalo Bills, the Jaguars have more than struggled in their own weight class.

That being said, what's perhaps even crazier is that the Jaguars are like this Right There. In the first year under Doug Pederson, a year in which the Jaguars had to shake off Urban Meyer's influence, one-point losses made sense.

In 2023, one-point losses became a somewhat worrying trend, but injuries could explain it. But now, in the third year of the Pederson regime? These are the games the Jaguars should learn how to win by now. Everything we have seen in 2024 suggests this is not the case.

Doug Pederson is right and wrong at the same time

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson didn't mince his words after the game. When asked if he would take over the game management, Pederson noted that offensive coordinator Press Taylor called “a great game” and that coaches can't design plays for players.

And in many ways, Pederson has actually made a strong argument. Aside from the questionable call here or there that occurs in every single NFL game, the play decision wasn't a problem.

But in another sense, Pederson may have gotten a little too honest. It's not fair to say he drove the bus past his players, but at least he put the ball in gear and got his foot close to the pedal.

After an 0-4 start that had the Jaguars seemingly searching for answers in every corner of the Miller Electric Center, Pederson pointed a finger toward his locker room. How they respond will likely define his term in office.

The crucial mistake the Jaguars made in the second half

One of the biggest plays made by a Jaguars player in 2024 came directly from second-year running back Tank Bigsby. Bigsby broke loose for a 58-yard run late in 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 changed the Jaguars' entire season.

The only problem with Bigsby's run? The fact that the Jaguars kept Bigsby on the field for the next two games, both handoffs to the young and up-and-coming running back.

The Jaguars prefer to push the tempo after explosive plays to keep the defense on its toes, but in this case the Jaguars should have subbed in Travis Etienne or D'Ernest Johnson.

It's a coulda, coulda, shoulda league, but the Jaguars might have been able to get the breakthrough they needed on the critical series from running backs who didn't just run for nearly 60 yards.

The defense deserves praise for its performance in the second half

The Jaguars' offense was weakened by CJ Stroud in the first half, with the second-year phenom throwing just two incomplete passes, while the Texans scored on three of their four first-half possessions. The Jaguars were missing two inside linebackers and their two best defensive backs, and it showed.

Nevertheless, the defense put in a strong performance in the second half. Despite being severely fatigued early in the game and losing Josh Hines-Allen to a possible concussion in the second half, the Jaguars forced five straight punts in the second half, clearly disarranging CJ Stroud and the Texans' offense until the final drive . This is a small victory that they can take from Sunday.

The Jaguars are now fighting for the No. 1 seed

The Jaguars have been No. 1 twice this decade. Could they do it a third time? They are currently one of only two winless teams in the NFL, along with the Tennessee Titans, who play the Miami Dolphins' third quarterback on Monday Night Football.

As things stand, there is a very real chance that the Jaguars will finish the season as the worst team in the NFL for the third time in five years.

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

They have two games against the Titans that they can win, but it's a difficult task.

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

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