The Jacksonville Jaguars had a prime opportunity to sweep the Houston Texans in Week 10, especially after C.J. Stroud was ruled out with a concussion. At one point in the fourth quarter, they were 29-10, and it looked like they were going to come out on top. However, things didn't play out the way the Jags expected. Quite the opposite.
Trailing 19 points, the Texans came from behind to beat Jacksonville 36-29, and what seemed like a statement win for the Jags early in the fourth quarter turned out to be a humiliation. There were many things that led to the loss, and the offense's anymic production late in the game was one of them. In fact, one stat proves just how inefficient the unit was.
The Jaguars offense was anemic in the fourth quarter vs. the Texans
After the game, Dan Griffis of Action Sports Jax posted on Twitter that the Jags had 1 — you read that right — just one paltry yard on offense in the fourth quarter. Sure, the defense deserves plenty of flak for cooling down and having no answer for the almighty Davis Mills, but the offense is equally at fault for the collapse.
For the sake of the argument, imagine the defense couldn't hold its ground. If the offense had stepped up, the game could've turned out into a shootout, with Trevor Lawrence going toe-to-toe with Davis Mills. Alas, that wasn't the case.
The Jags had three possessions in the fourth quarter and went three-and-out in every single one of them. Had they scored one more touchdown, or even drained the clock, the outcome of the game would've been another one. It wasn't.
Trevor Lawrence and the offense let the Jaguars down
Again, there's plenty of blame to go around, and aside from Trevor Lawrence, the offensive line deserves criticism. The group gave up 20 total pressures and six sacks. That's simply too much. Similarly, the Jags couldn't open holes in the running game, and that prevented Travis Etienne from breaking off even though he ran with purpose every time he toted the rock.
Aside from Etienne, Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers deserve credit for coming through with Brian Thomas Jr. out. Ditto Cam Little, who came up clutch every time Jacksonville asked him to. Heck, he might've won the game if Lawrence hadn't turned the ball over in the last game of the play and had gotten him in field-goal range.
You could argue that the Jaguars went against the best defense in the league, and that's accurate: the Texans have the top defense, but it wouldn't have mattered if the Jaguars were a good team. They aren't, and the loss in Week 10 proved just that.
The silver lining is that the Jaguars will eventually get Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, and tight end Brenton Strange right now. But as things stand, it's clear that they will have their work cut out even when all three return.