The Jacksonville Jaguars had a prime opportunity to make up ground in the AFC South race when they faced the Houston Texans in Week 10, but they blew it and lost 36-29. What makes this even more frustrating is that they had a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter, and all they had to do was protect.
However, the offense couldn't move the ball, and the defense couldn't suddenly find answers to stop Davis Mills. It was the perfect recipe for the Texans to mount a furious comeback and win the game.
Now, the Jags find themselves at 5-4 just one week after trouncing the Las Vegas Raiders. And based on how things played out in the meltdown against Houston, it's not surprising to see them plummet in virtually NFL Power Rankings.
The Jaguars suffered a noticeable tumble in NFL Power Rankings
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk gave Jacksonville the 17th spot in his Power Ranking, limiting himself to saying that the "wheels could come off, quickly." For his part, Eric Edholm of NFL Media dropped the Jags three spots, from No. 15 to No. 18, after the meltdown, noting that it was one of the worst losses in franchise history. He isn't wrong.
"No sugar-coating here: This was one of the worst regular-season losses in franchise history. The Jaguars were beating the Texans backup QB soundly on Sunday, up 28-10 thanks to good special teams and defense and just enough offense," Edholm wrote. "Next Gen Stats gave them a 97% chance to win at that point.
Edholm continued, "Somehow, Jacksonville's defense allowed Mills to squirrel his way out of multiple sacks and lead three touchdown drives in just over a quarter, with a defensive TD tacked on as time expired for an additional layer of torture. Jacksonville is a one-point overtime win over Las Vegas away from having lost four straight."
Let's make one thing clear: If Davis Mills managed to mount a comeback, it was because the Jacksonville defense came crashing down. What makes it even worse is that the group started out strong but relented by the end of the game.
Jarrian Jones and Dennis Gardeck forced two turnovers right off the bat. Arik Armstead and Antonio Johnson registered one sack each, but the defense progressively cooled down and made Davis Mills like prime Steve Young by the fourth quarter. Heck, you can see on the clip below how neither linebacker Devin Lloyd nor pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen makes an effort to stop the Texans quarterback on his way to the end zone.
watch Lloyd and Hines-Allen on the most important play of the game. pic.twitter.com/CouV3I1I4k
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) November 10, 2025
Having said that, the pass rush and their inability to stop Mills isn't the only issue the Jaguars need to worry about following the loss to the Texans.
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The Jaguars must regroup if they don't want to season to slip
It's hard to imagine head coach Liam losing a grip of the team, but he must certainly find a way to steer the ship in the right direction. To his credit, he's made it clear that he buck stops with him. Having said that, he's failed to fix many of the issues that have plagued the team throughout the year.
In particular, penalties are still holding the Jaguars back, and until they stop shooting themselves in the foot, they're going to lose games that they would otherwise win. Think about it, had Chuma Edoga not been flagged in the second-to-last play of the game, kicker Cam Little would've been in a position to nail the game-winning field goal, and everyone would be talking about how clutch Trevor Lawrence is.
pic.twitter.com/xUBKRGhy22
— Fitz (@LaurieFitzptrck) November 9, 2025
But Edoga's penalty wiped out whatever chance Jacksonville still had to win the game. Coen implied in his latest exchange with the media that the team is going to bench players. Maybe that's the wakeup call they need to play up to their talent.
And while there's still time to turn things around, the Jaguars don't currently look great. That reality is being reflected in power rankings.