Good, bad, and ugly from the Jags’ loss to the Texans

There wasn’t a lot of good to take from the Jags’ loss in Houston, but there were two defensive players who stepped up and did their part.

The Jacksonville Jaguars three-game skid increased to a four-game one Sunday after the team lost yet another game to another winless team in the Houston Texans. As a result, they made history, becoming the first team to ever lose three games to winless opponents.

With such a terrible achievement to their names, it feels like the team is due for a rough season and could meet the expectations of those who deemed them a three-win (or less) team. Yet, here at the Jags Wire, it’s our jobs to provide our readers with insight on just what went right and wrong for the team Sunday — even in the toughest of times.

That said, here are the good, bad, and ugly moments that came from Week 5’s loss:

The good: CB Sidney Jones IV and DE Dawuane Smoot stepped up

Coming into Sunday’s game, it was a given that the Jags’ defense would struggle with starters Myles Jack, CJ Henderson, and Josh Allen all sitting out with injuries. That’s exactly what happened as the Texans’ offense was 14 yards shy of 500 on the day. However, there were some players on the Jags’ unit that stood out and took advantage of their increased playtime.

Cornerback Sidney Jones IV was a member of the secondary that fans who watched couldn’t help but notice as he was in on two plays that caused turnovers. The first was a pick on Deshaun Watson who was trying to hit receiver Will Fuller in the middle of the field. Defensive end Dawuane Smoot (who we’ll discuss in just a bit) got a piece of the ball while trying to get to the quarterback, causing the ball to lose some velocity and Jones to make a play on it.

Jones also was able to cause a pick through a pass deflection that was intended for Fuller in the third quarter. Watson tried to hit the veteran receiver on an outside post and Jones was able to tip the ball. Wilson then plucked it from the air and returned it deep into Houston territory.

Ultimately, Jones finished the game with three tackles, a pass breakup, and a pick and now has a Pro Football Focus grade of 73.6. At this rate, it appears he may have secured a spot starting as a boundary corner with Henderson, which will allow Tre Herndon to remain at nickel for D.J. Hayden who is on injured reserve.

As for Smoot, he had a solid day with the increased reps he got due to Allen’s injury. In addition to the aforementioned pass deflection we mentioned, he was a nuisance for Watson, registering a sack and three quarterback hits. Those are totals that led the team in both categories and should result in the staff utilizing the fourth-year player more down the road.

The bad: Missed opportunities to score by the offense

When looking back at the game, there were three opportunities where the Jags were able to get inside the Texans’ 22-yard line but came away with zero points. There were two opportunities late in the second quarter that they squandered, then there was another in the third quarter where they had a fumble.

When looking at these moments, many fans weren’t high on the play-calling, which is a change from the past few weeks. If there has been anyone the fanbase felt was worth praising, it was offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, but that wasn’t the case Sunday.

The play in particular that didn’t sit well with fans was the aforementioned fumble from James Robinson that occurred in the third quarter. The Jags simply tried to get too cute with the play call, putting Robinson in the backfield as a wildcat quarterback. With the rookie rolling out right to find an open target, he fumbled the ball and it was recovered by J.J. Watt.

Of course, when the offense looks back at the film on Monday, they are going to want each failed series back. Unfortunately, there will be no time machine to jump in and correct things, so they will just have to settle for improving their red-zone offense in the future.

The ugly: The kicking game

In the two aforementioned series where the Jags weren’t able to score, they brought newly signed kicker Stephen Hauschka on to the field — and just like the offense — he came up short. The first attempt was for 24 yards and ended up missing wide left. The second kick, which was a 49-yard attempt, was short. Had the Jags been able to make both kicks, they would’ve gone into the half with some momentum and a 13-10 lead.

After the two missed kicks late in the second quarter, the Jags elected to keep Hauschka on the sidelines (aside from their extra-point attempts), which possibly played a role in the team going for the fourth-and-one attempt on Houston’s 8-yard line in the third quarter that led to Robinson’s fumble.

Thankfully, help might be on the way to correct the Jags’ flaws in the kicking game. Their initial starter, Josh Lambo, will be eligible to return from IR Monday if healthy from a right hip injury that occurred before the Jags’ game against the Miami Dolphins.

The last update the media was able to provide on Lambo was that he was off crutches last month. Hopefully, that leads to a return to the practice field soon but we’ll have to monitor the injury report on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to further make a call.