Jacksonville Jaguars: Third straight loss leaves a huge mess

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost their third consecutive game, falling 20-7 to the Houston Texans. How does this team respond to the huge mess left behind?

The Jacksonville Jaguars were back at TIAA Bank Field for an AFC South matchup against the Houston Texans. After two straight losses on the road, there was hope that the home crowd could spark the Jaguars to victory. Jacksonville lost the game 20-7, but more importantly, must deal with the huge mess left behind the third consecutive loss.

This season has played out like the Charles Dickens story, A Tale of Two Cities. As the story opens, “It was the best of times…” — remember the New England game in Week 2? “It was the worst of times…” — which is currently playing out now.

Just how bad is it going for the Jacksonville offense? Despite all the current injuries, turnovers have plagued the team. On Sunday, the Jaguars turned the ball over three times in critical situations. Jacksonville received the opening kickoff. Three plays later, Houston had recovered a Blake Bortles fumble on the Jaguars 36-yard line. The Jaguars defense held Houston to a field goal.

Trailing 3-0, the Jaguars offense tried to get on track. Instead, the Jacksonville offense never got any momentum in the first half. Jacksonville punted the ball on four-straight possessions after the fumble on the opening drive.

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Houston led the game 13-0 at halftime. There was no need to panic. Plenty of time to score and win the game. Then the unthinkable happened once again.

The Jaguars defense forced a Texans punt in their first possession to open the third quarter. With the Jaguars starting from their own 1-yard line, lightning struck again on third down. Bortles fumbled again on third down. This set up the Texans to score another touchdown to lead 20-0.

Bortles’ day was completed. Cody Kessler replaced him on the next series. Kessler managed to drive the Jaguars 47 yards on ten plays to make the score, 20-7. There seemed to be a small spark in the offense.

In the fourth quarter, Kessler was moving the team down the field to perhaps cut the deficit even more. Maybe another touchdown would make for a stunning comeback victory. Then, on third down, Kessler’s pass bounced of T.J.Yeldon’s fingers into the hands of the Texans. The game was over but the clock had not ran out.

Post game reports say that the Jaguars were in total meltdown mode. Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk reported the following:

"The Jaguars were having intramural fights before the season even started. Now that it’s officially not going according to plan, they’re at it again."

In wake of the loss, the Jaguars have a huge mess on their hands. Jacksonville can make a playoff run but they are going to have to win the AFC South. Most of all, they have to win games.