The Jacksonville Jaguars losing streak for the 2020 season continued, as did their losing streak against the Houston Texans, which dates back to Week 1 of 2017. It ultimately was a battle where the team wasn’t able to overcome some crucial mistakes, which most notably came from their offense and special teams.
As we previously mentioned this afternoon, the Jags initially got on the board in the second quarter when quarterback Gardner Minshew II hit receiver Keelan Cole for a toe-drag touchdown reception. That put the Jags up by a score of 7-3.
However, it wasn’t long before the Jags’ defense gave up a big play to tight end Darren Fells. The unit had a miscommunication in the middle of the field, which allowed quarterback Deshaun Watson to hit Fells up the middle for a 44-yard touchdown.
During the Jags’ next two drives before the half, their issues at the kicker position caught up with them as they were in position for two field goals. Unfortunately, Stephen Hauschka, who the Jags signed after Week 3’s game against the Miami Dolphins, missed both.
The first missed was after a 12 play drive by the offense and the second was after cornerback Sidney Jones picked off Watson on Houston’s 36-yard line. Still, the Jags went into half-time down by a small margin of 10-7.
In the second half, the offense received another assist from the defense through a pass deflection by Jones that ended up in the hands of safety Jarrod Wilson, who returned the takeaway to Houston’s 27-yard line.
Eventually, the Jags’ offense found themselves in a fourth-and-one situation around Houston’s 15-yard line, but the offense fumbled the ball after trying to get cute with a direct snap to running back James Robinson. In the process of rolling out for a pass attempt, Robinson fumbled the ball and Houston recovered it — waisting yet another opportunity in Texans territory.
During the next two possessions, the Texans and Jags exchanged touchdown drives thanks to receiver Will Fuller IV and Collin Johnson, putting the score at 20-14. Houston was also able to add a field goal around the 7:30 mark, making their lead a two possession one.
Of course, with time winding down the put the Jags in a situation where they had to press and the results weren’t good. On a third-and-15 possession at the 6:27 minute mark, Minshew was planted for a sack where he held on to the ball a little too long. The hit by Jacob Martin was so forceful it resulted in a fumble, which was recovered by Houston on the Jags’ 34-yard line.
With the ball in their territory, Houston seized the moment with a 28-yard touchdown from Brandon Cooks, which was the last score of the game and put it at the final score of 30-14.
In what felt like a game that the Jags needed to win, they came up short again, leaving many to wonder about the future of the coaching staff. The lost put them at four in a row, with three coming from winless teams.
Of course, there will be no rest for the weary, however, and the team will need to have short-term memory with the Detroit Lions coming up. The game will mark the Jags’ first home game since Week 3, which was a loss to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football.