Jaguars 2024 Game Report, Week 4: Texans vs. Jaguars

HOUSTON, Texas – That was better. At least a little. It just wasn’t enough.

The Jaguars played with grit and spirit on Sunday, but the result was that their deficit in the AFC South only grew larger.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes and the Jaguars led early and late, but the division-leading Houston Texans rallied twice – once in the first half and again in the second – to earn a 24-20 victory at NRG Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

“I just tell them we have to keep working and fighting,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “We still have a lot of football ahead of us. This is not the time to point fingers.”

Running back Dare Ogunbowale’s one-yard touchdown reception from quarterback CJ Stroud gave the Texans the lead with 18 minutes remaining. It was the culmination of a nine-play, 69-yard drive.

Lawrence later said he was “pretty frustrated.”

“A lot of missed opportunities,” Lawrence said. “This is what has happened in the last few weeks. We couldn’t overcome it today. The boys fought hard. We gave everything we had and had a chance at the end. Offensively, we didn’t use the last few possessions enough.”

The Jaguars’ defense held the Texans scoreless on their first five possessions of the second half.

“We credit our defense in the second half,” Lawrence said. “They came out and played really well and gave us the ball back a lot. We have to capitalize on it.”

The Jaguars are 0-4. The Texans lead the AFC South at 3-1.

“Everyone is frustrated,” said running back Travis Etienne Jr. “It’s getting more and more monotonous. Talking about it doesn’t help us. We just have to keep working. We just have to finish and be a little tougher mentally.”

Lawrence completed 18 of 33 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, with his short first-quarter touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. giving the Jaguars their first lead since Week 1. The Jaguars trailed 34-3 at halftime of a 47-10 loss to Buffalo six days earlier.

“I thought we did some good things and we had some good opportunities,” Lawrence said. “We had a good plan. We were prepared for a lot. We had many chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t take advantage of all of them – and that’s why we’re here now and didn’t win.” “We didn’t take advantage of some of those chances.”

Lawrence’s second touchdown pass – to wide receiver Christian Kirk – gave the Jaguars a 17-13 lead in the third quarter and was the only score of the second half until the Texans’ game-winning touchdown. The Texans stopped the Jaguars on downs after Jacksonville faced first-and-goal at the Texans’ 4-yard line late in the third quarter.

Rookie kicker Cam Little converted field goals from 41 and 52 yards in the first half, and the second goal brought the Jaguars within one point late in the second quarter – 14-13.

“We’re close to flipping the switch and making real plays during the game,” Pederson said. “We’re not doing them now and that’s holding us back.”

Stroud completed 27 of 40 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

The Jaguars recorded two sacks and no takeaways on defense Sunday, with defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter recording a sack in the second quarter and defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris recording a sack in the fourth quarter. They also had something special on special teams early in the first quarter when safety Daniel Thomas deflected a botched punt at the Texans’ 2-yard line, setting up the game’s first touchdown.

“We just have to keep playing,” Lawrence said. “This is an adversity. It was hard. We’re not having the success we wanted and there are a lot of people who are putting in a lot of time, coaches and players and everyone who works for the team. It’s frustrating and it’s hard, but you have adversity and you have to push through it and get to the other side.

“It will help you in the long run. That’s what we preach as a team.”