The stars were aligning for the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of Week 10. C.J. Stroud was ruled out of the game. On top of that, they had just traded for the sure-handed Jakobi Meyers, and linebacker Devin Lloyd was back. Simply put, the Jags had a prime opportunity to sweep the dreaded Houston Texans and keep up with the Indianapolis Colts in the race for the AFC South. It wasn't meant to be.
At one point, Jacksonville was 29-10, but the Texans mounted a furious comeback and went on to win 36-29. While this was a team loss, there were several players who cost the Jaguars the win. Trevor Lawrence is arguably the biggest culprit, but there's another position group to failed to come through when needed the most.
The Jaguars defense failed to stop Davis Mills
The Jaguars did a good job of bringing the heat early in the game. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead and safety Antonio Johnson had a sack each. Travon Walker was nearly credited with another one but was ultimately wiped out due to a questionable roughing the passer call. All things considered, the pass rush was showing signs of life until it didn't.
But Davis Mills — filling in for C.J. Stroud — pulled his best impersonation of prime Steve Young in the fourth quarter and proceeded to lead a handful of scoring drives. The 2021 third-round pick finished the game with a 60.0 percent completion rate for 292 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Throughout the whole ordeal, the Jacksonville pass rush was nowhere to be seen.
The Jaguars tallied 24 pressures, but you wouldn't be able to tell by watching Davis Mills improvising and connecting with his receivers. And that's the thing, pressures are important, but quarterbacks can still make the plays even if they're flushed out of the pocket. That's why sacks carry more weight, as they end plays and potentially bring momentum to a halt.
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Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen failed to come through for the Jaguars
When the Jags needed it, they couldn't stop Davis Mills and the Houston offense. Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen had four pressures each, but neither was able to make the kind of plays that would stop the Texans' comeback. Compounding the issue is that the Texans' offensive line isn't particularly good.
The rest of the front four, aside from Arik Armstead, wasn't much better. Dawuane Smoot, Khalen Saunders Sr., Danny Striggow, and Emmanuel Ogbah had a combined two pressurers. And that's a reason for concern.
While sacks aren't the only way to measure a team's ability to get after the quarterback, and Jaguars rank near the cellar of the league in that category.
Meanwhile, teams that lead the NFL in sacks routinely have dominant defenses. It's clear that the Jaguars aren't near that category. Similarly, there's no question that the pass rush is quickly becoming a top need to address in the offseason.