The Jacksonville Jaguars had a great opportunity to make a statement when they faced the Houston Texans in Week 10. With a win, they would've kept up with the Indianapolis Colts in the race for the AFC South. Moreover, the Jags would've had a tiebreaker in case they made a playoff push. But it wasn't meant to be.
Up 29-10 in the fourth quarter, all Jacksonville needed to do was take care of the lead. But the Texans were having none of it and rallied from behind to win 36-10. That's not the kind of thing a playoff team does, and a former NFL player-turned analyst minced no words about the current state of the Jaguars.
The Jaguars showed in the loss to the Texaxns that they aren't a playoff team
Bryan McFadden of CBS Sports participated in a roundtable and made it clear that the Jags aren't a playoff team, pointing out that they barely beat the Raiders the week prior and fell to a Davis Mills-led Texans team in what was a must-win divisional game.
"Let's keep it real now. It's time to say the quiet part out loud: the Jacksonville Jaguars, they're not a playoff-caliber team. I don't foresee them getting to the playoffs. I don't think they're gonna get in," McFadden said. "They're just an 'in the way team,' okay? They're like that speed bump in residential areas. You see it? But you know you're going to go over them because of what you just talked about, the defense. They can't finish ball games. Remember, they barely beat who last week: the Raiders."
McFadden continued, "It took an overtime opportunity, the Raiders went for two that ended up losing that ball game... when you are a playoff caliber team. You notice, if you are 29-10 in the fourth quarter. Usually, there's not enough possessions for the opposing team to get to be able to beat you. But you were going three-and-out, not getting any stops, and you lost to Davis Mills."
"No knock on Davis Mills, he's a serviceable quarterback, but if you're the Jacksonville Jaguars fan base, and you're telling me we lost, we had a 19-point lead, and we lost to C.J. Stroud. That might be a little easier to digest. But then, when you say it was Davis Mills who outplayed your franchise quarterback, and that's the last thing I'll say about Jacksonville, and why I don't believe that playoff caliber team."
For context, Mills was 27-of-45 for 292 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. McFadden goes on to wonder whether Trevor Lawrence is the long-term answer at quarterback, pointing out that he's failed to flourish under head coach Liam Coen.
"What is going on with Trevor Lawrence? The case study needs to be done about Trevor Lawrence and his ability to excel under Lim Cohen. What did Lim Cohen make last year? I mean, made sweet tea with no sugar, right? And that sweet tea tastes really, really good, right? Now that sweet tea is bitter in Jacksonville, he got outperformed by Davis Mills. That's unacceptable," McFadden said.
Make no mistake, Lawrence failed to come through in the fourth quarter, but he was far from the team's biggest concern. In fact, he was pressured at a 100 percent rate in the fourth quarter, and a penalty by Chuma Edoga wiped out what would've been a first-down completion that would've put Cam Little in a position to kick the game-winning field goal.
Either way, the Jaguars couldn't capitalize on an opportunity to solidify their status as a playoff team. Instead, they were exposed.
Related: Damning state proves just how dreadful the Jags offense was in the Week 10 collapse
What's next for the Jaguars after the loss to the Texans?
The Jaguars face several issues across the board. The pass rush is non-existent. The offensive line cannot block, and penalties remain a reason for concern. Simply, there isn't a simple fix, and unless Liam Coen does something about it, Jacksonville will continue to plunge.
The window to make trades is closed, and the free-agent market isn't particularly enticing. All potential changes will need to come from within. As Coen stated after the loss, they'll need to challenge each other if they have any hopes of turning things around.
"We'll definitely have to challenge each other this week to get back on track."#JAXvsHOU pic.twitter.com/NaC00w2vBP
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) November 9, 2025
The one silver lining is that their schedule will be a bit easier in the second half of the season. Moreover, Jacksonville will get tight end Brenton Strange, two-way star Travis Hunter, and wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. soon.
Then again, it may not ultimately matter if the Jaguars cannot stop shooting themselves in the foot like they did in the fourth-quarter collapse against the Texans.