Texans down Jags 20-13

John Frary, ESPN Radio

Jacksonville- The Jaguars defense was down five starters and resembled a mash unit on military appreciation day. Despite all of the regulars being out of the lineup, they held Houston’s offense to 88 yards rushing and barely over 200 total yards of offense and even forced a fumble which was returned for a touchdown. It still wasn’t enough in a 20-13 defeat to the Texans.

“Hard to win in this league scoring 13 points” stated Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio and the players agreed with their head coaches comment after the game. “We aren’t converting enough big plays” said Jaguars offensive guard Uche Nwaneri. Once again, the Jaguars couldn’t break 14 points in a game.

They came into this contest averaging 12.5 points a game and that simply won’t win many football games in the NFL. The offense was horrendous all day. They couldn’t score any touchdowns. Blaine Gabbert and Luke McCown were sacked a combined 7 times by Houston.

Connor Barwin sacked Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert three times and had four sacks overall. It looked like there was several Connor Barwin’s on the field at once. The Texans linebacker was everywhere on Sunday. Blaine Gabbert struggled so much that he was pulled from the game with 7:03 left in the 4^th quarter and relieved by Jaguars backup quarterback Luke McCown.

The first place Texans started backup quarterback Matt Leinart in place of injured Matt Schaub. Leinart wouldn’t even last a half. He was knocked out of the game with a injured left shoulder with less than 2 minutes to go in the half. The reports are it’s a broken collarbone.

It appeared the Jaguars were going to have a big day at the beginning of the game. A fumble was returned 38 yards for a touchdown by Ashton Youboty. EverBank Field was rocking and the Jaguars had all the momentum early up 7-0.

The Texans never flinched though and tied the game up two series later. They drove 67 yards with Arian Foster leading the way. Foster had a 43 yard run and scored the touchdown on a one yard carry on 3^rd and goal midway through the 1^st quarter.

The only long offensive drive Blaine Gabbert led Jacksonville on should have produced a touchdown. Gabbert had completions of 31, 25 and 14 yards on a drive that went all the way down to Houston’s 3 yard line.

Marcedes Lewis dropped a perfectly thrown pass on 2^nd and goal from the 3 yard line midway through the 2^nd quarter. This wasn’t the first time the Jaguars pro bowl tight end has dropped a touchdown pass this season. What confounded the drop even more was the fact that Lewis was wide open.

The Jaguars settled for a 21yard Josh Scobee field goal and went ahead 10-7. The Texans dominated the remainder of the half. A 42 yard punt return by Jacoby Jones gave Houston the ball at Jacksonville’s 26 yard line. The Texans only needed three plays to go back in front. Matt Leinart connected with tight end Joel Dreessen for a 20 yard touchdown.

A Texans interception and questionable coaching decision by Jack Del Rio led to two field goals and a 20-10 halftime lead. Johnathan Joseph had a interception and 26 yard return. The Jaguars defense didn’t allow Houston a first down, but Texans place kicker Neil Rackers nailed a 53 yard field goal right down the middle.

Jack Del Rio elected to have Josh Scobee attempt a 55 yard field goal with less than 2 minutes remaining in the half. A week ago, Del Rio elected to punt with :15 left in the half instead of attempting a 57 yard field goal. This time he did go for the 3 and the kick was wide right.

The missed field goal gave Houston great field position at their own 45 yard line. They drove 40 yards and Neil Rackers made his second field goal of the half from 33 yards out. The score was very important due to Texans quarterback Matt Leinart being knocked out of the game with a injured left shoulder on this drive.

The Texans were down to playing rookie quarterback T.J. Yates. He is their third string quarterback on the depth chart. The 10 point lead allowed the Texans to stay very vanilla on offense throughout the 2^nd half.

A anemic Jaguars offense could never put any pressure on Houston during the 2^nd half. Blaine Gabbert was very ineffective throughout the 3^rd quarter and was finally pulled from the game midway through the 4^th quarter.

Luke McCown did give Jacksonville’s offense a lift and led them on a scoring march late in the game. The drive stalled at Houston’s 14 yard line and Josh Scobee made his second field goal of the day and cut the Texans lead back to seven at 20-13.

The Jaguars were moving the ball again inside of 3 minutes left when Texans linebacker Connor Barwin made yet another big play. He sacked Luke McCown for a 13 yard loss and put the Jaguars in a 3^rd and 27 situation.

Jacksonville simply couldn’t dig out of that big of a hole. They did connect on a 25 yard completion, but wound up falling short on a 4^th and 2 from Houston’s 40 yard line. The Texans took over on downs and ran out the clock.

The Jaguars head coach was asked the inevitable question regarding the quarterback change and said “just looking for a spark, looking for a little life.” When asked who would be the starting quarterback next week “Blaine’s our starting quarterback, Luke gave us a lift at the back end of this ballgame” answered Del Rio.

The loss drops Jacksonville to 3-8 and Houston improved to 8-3. The Jaguars are mathematically eliminated from the division with 5 games remaining in the season. The rest of this season was best summed up by Jaguars linebacker Russell Allen. “We are professional’s and will continue to give our best effort regardless of the record.”

Game notes: Blaine Gabbert was 13/29 for 136 yards and had a 44.6 quarterback rating. Luke McCown went 7/11 for 62 yards and had a 78.6 quarterback rating. Maurice Jones-Drew had 18 carries for 99 yards. He also led the Jaguars in receiving yards with 4 receptions for 67 yards. Marcedes Lewis had 4 receptions for 47 yards. Ashton Youboty led Jacksonville with 8 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown. Matt Leinart went 10/13 for 57 yards and one touchdown with a 110.1 quarterback rating. T.J. Yates went 8/15 for 70 yards and a 66.0 quarterback rating. Arian Foster ran for 65 yards on 22 carries. Owen Daniels led the Texans in receiving with 4 receptions for 31 yards. Andre Johnson was held to two receptions with 22 yards. Jaguars center set the franchise record by starting his 172^nd consecutive game. He broke Jimmy Smith’s record at 171 previously. Jaguars rookie wide receiver Cecil Shorts III made his first reception in a regular season game for 25 yards.

Injury update: Texans quarterback Matt Leinart was reported to have a broken left collarbone. Leinart is left handed and this could mean rookie quarterback T.J. Yates will have to lead the first place Texans for the remainder of the 2011 season. The Jaguars had no serious injuries during the game, but are without starting cornerbacks Rasheen Mathis and Derek Cox for the remainder of the season and were missing defensive end Matt Roth, defensive end Aaron Kampman, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton and outside linebacker Clint Session. Session is out for the remainder of the season with a concussion.

Upcoming schedule: The Jaguars will host San Diego on Monday night December 5. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and shown locally on WJXT channel 4 in Northeast Florida and Jacksonville.

Final analysis: The Jaguars defense played great without 5 starters. They just can’t do it all alone! The offense didn’t score any touchdowns and simply aren’t scoring enough points. Blaine Gabbert continues to struggle, but he is a rookie quarterback. The offensive line was atrocious. They can’t allow seven sacks in any game and expect to win. Jack Del Rio’s decision to pull Gabbert was questionable, despite his struggles. This might have been a time to see if Gabbert could run the 2 minute offense and give him more experience. This team needs a major overhaul on offense with receivers and offensive lineman in the off season. The coaching staff must be changed to and is a recurring theme after every game.

John Frary, ESPN Radio