Jaguars collapse in historic fashion in road loss to the Texans

The Jaguars scored first in Sunday’s game against the Texans. They went up 3-0, then 10-0, then 17-0, and held a 19-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

That’s when we got hit with a case of Same Old Jags.

Subbing in for C.J. Stroud, who was inactive with a concussion, Davis Mills led three straight touchdown trips, including a 14-play, 93-yard drive to take the lead and complete the comeback. On that final possession, a defensive pass interference gave Houston a chunk gain and the backup quarterback finished the job himself by rushing for the score. It’s pretty much exactly what we saw in Jacksonville’s Week 2 loss.

More worrisome, the Jaguars lost in the same way we’ve seen for years and years: by beating themselves. Cam Little almost had a field goal opportunity at the end of the game… but a 12-yard catch that would’ve put the ball at Houston’s 33-yard line was negated by an ‘illegal use of hands’ penalty. The offense had plenty of scoring chances throughout the day… but crossed the pylon on just two of four redzone trips and went three-and-out on two fourth quarter possessions. The defense was playing with a sizable lead all day… but they couldn’t get a late stop or get home with a four-man pass rush. Mills was hit on just 9% of his dropbacks (4 of 45); Lawrence was hit on 26% (6 of 23).

The game wasn’t even as bad as previous embarrassments — it was worse. Jacksonville’s 19-point blown lead in today’s debacle was the biggest in franchise history.

Here’s everything you need to know from Jacksonville’s 36-29 loss at NRG Stadium.

Live blog

Catch up on all the big plays and best moments from tonight’s game in our live blog!

Play of the game

• According to rbsdm.com, the biggest play of the game by Expected Points Added was Houston’s defensive touchdown as the clock hit zero (-7.1 EPA).
• The biggest play of the game by win probability was Mills’ 14-yard touchdown run to take the lead in the fourth quarter (36% swing).

Key stats (traditional)

• 26: Points scored by Houston in the fourth quarter
• 136: Receiving yards by Nico Collins
• 67% and 36%: Third down conversion rates by Houston and Jacksonville, respectively

View the full (traditional) box score here

Key stats (advanced)

• 96%: Jacksonville’s win probability entering the fourth quarter
• –14.4%: Trevor Lawrence’s completion percentage over expected
• 100%: Jacksonville’s success rate when targeting Jakobi Meyers

View the full (advanced) box score here

Game balls

Parker Washington

Washington caught a dime from Trevor Lawrence in the corner of the endzone for the first touchdown of the day. According to Next Gen Stats, the pass only had a 28.3% chance of being completed.

The third-year receiver hit paydirt again on a shifty 73-yard punt return to give Jacksonville a 17-0 lead.

Jarrian Jones

Despite an encouraging rookie season, Jones was replaced in the starting...