SPORTS | Jaguars drop 4th straight game, this time in final seconds – Jacksonville Today

Better, but still not good enough.

The Jaguars played their best quarter of football since halftime of the season opener on Sunday in Houston. It still wasn’t enough to get in the win column.

The loss left the Jaguars 0 for September. Four games to open the season against four playoff teams from last year. Four losses.

This isn’t a team that is going to compete for the postseason. Only one team in NFL history started the season 0-4 and then made the playoffs. That was the 1992 San Diego Chargers.

Although the Jaguars have one more game on the schedule than the Chargers did 32 years ago, there is not enough evidence to indicate that this team can mount a historic comeback.

Still, there were some positives in the game against the Texans. The Jaguars’ running game was very good, rushing for 158 yards, including 90 from Tank Bigsby. After getting torched by Josh Allen and the Bills last Monday night, the defense played better, particularly in the second half when they gave up just one touchdown drive.

Then again, that touchdown drive, a nine-play, 69-yard romp by the Texans, ended in the game-winning touchdown when Houston QB C.J. Stroud found former Jaguar Dare Ogunbowale for a 1-yard score.

Christian Kirk and Brian Thomas made some plays. Thomas led the Jaguars with 86 receiving yards. The pass protection was better, allowing only one sack, although Lawrence continues to be gun shy under pressure, too often spinning out of the pocket at the first sign of an opponent’s jersey.

Also a positive: Linebacker Ventrell Miller, a former Gator who missed all of last season with an injury, started in place of the injured Foye Oluokun and was very active, leading the Jaguars with 10 combined tackles.

There is one more important positive to mention. The Jaguars seemed to respond to Doug Pederson. Coming out of halftime they played a very good quarter of football. Although it resulted in just one touchdown drive, the team played more in synch on both sides of the ball.

But when the game was on the line, the same litany of problems that led to an 0-3 start contributed to another loss.

The Jaguars’ offensive possession before the Texans go-ahead touchdown is a microcosm of Jacksonville’s struggles.

Leading by 3 points with 3:51 left to play, the Jaguars began a drive on their own 28-yard line. Doug Pederson (or is it Press Taylor?) called for a first-down run. Travis Etienne was tackled after a 1-yard gain. Fine. The play got the clock moving. In the final minutes of a game in which you are winning, a team must let the clock be an ally. The next play call was a pass. Lawrence threw short to Gabe Davis. Incomplete. The clock stopped at 3:08. Now, needing to convert a third and nine, another pass play. Lawrence could not connect with Christian Kirk. Incomplete. 3:05 to play. The Jaguars took 46 seconds off the clock when they needed to milk the clock.

It was a combination of poor coaching and poor execution.

That about sums it up.

Now, the Jaguars return home to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, trying to avoid a 0-5 start for the fourth time in franchise history. They started 0-5 under Urban Meyer. One year under Gus Bradley they started 0-8. The next season, they opened with six straight losses.

Since starting last season 8-3, the Jaguars have won just one of their last 10 games.

This season is all but a loss. We’ll find out how much the Jaguars care in the coming weeks.