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Late catch must be start of something big for struggling Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
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- Late catch must be start of something big for struggling Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
Following each drop, all three of them that continued Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr.'s early season from hell, his teammates provided encouragement.
Stick with it. Remain positive. Focus on the next opportunity. All the things guys are supposed to say to each other in times of angst.
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But it was quarterback Trevor Lawrence 's words that were particularly prophetic in the fourth quarter of a tie game/ slugfest/battle royal against the Houston Texans on Sunday .
After Thomas' third blunder ended a drive, Lawrence said he told Thomas: "Stay in it, you're going to end up making the play to set us up to go win it."
Moments later, Thomas' 46-yard catch set up Travis Etienne 's 10-yard touchdown with 1:48 remaining, propelling the Jaguars to a 17-10 win/survival test/gut check against the Texans .
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This is how bad things were going for Thomas: He would have been like my fourth or fifth pick on the bingo card of who would make an impact offensive play. He was appearing that unreliable. Pick Etienne. Pick tight end Brenton Strange . Pick receiver Parker Washington . Pick running back Bhayshul Tuten . Just don't pick Thomas.
But befitting his status as a first-round pick and the Jaguars' recognized No. 1 receiver, Thomas finally delivered an eye-opening play after two-plus games of eye-gouging mistakes.
"It was everything for him," receiver Tim Patrick said. "It showed him to never dwell on what happened early in the game and you can still make a play to win the game and that's all that matters and that's all people will look at."
Thomas showed resolve to answer those many setbacks with a huge play, but the Jaguars better hope he uses that play as a springboard.
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"Keeping fighting to the end," he said. "That (play) was a statement for sure."
Thomas heard the boos
Thomas' catch, run and primal celebration, he chucked the football against the outer wall, was the biggest part of the Jaguars' big win from big-picture perspective.
Sure, the Jaguars showed they could gut out a game against a division rival, a Texans team they just don't like (the lack of affection is mutual), the defense again showed an ability to create takeaways (three more) and there shouldn't be a big amount of concern over a run game that lost the tread on its tires (24 attempts-86 yards) because coach Liam Coen will figure that out.
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) catches a pass for a huge gain in the fourth quarter between the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday September 21, 2025 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Texans 17-10. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
But the Jaguars absolutely, positively needed Thomas to do something big ... every game. Not 200 yards and three touchdowns big, but 5-to-8 catches big. It was time for the kid to get going after a quiet Week 1 (one catch for 11 yards, but a 9-yard touchdown carry) and a Week 2 that was loud for all the wrong reasons (avoiding contact on a Lawrence interception and a fourth-down drop).
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The drops for Thomas must end now and the big plays for him must continue. Period. Without him stretching defenses vertically and horizontally, the Jaguars' offense will have to dink and dunk and scratch and fight for every yard. That is no way to live in the NFL.
For the first three-plus quarters, Thomas was living a nightmare, a nightmare of his own doing. This wasn't on Lawrence or the pass protection or the play-calling.
Late in the first quarter, Thomas outjumped Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. , his old LSU teammate/practice sparring partner 37 yards downfield but was unable to retain control as he fell to the turf. A tough catch, but still a drop.
The crowd murmured.
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Midway through the third quarter, on third-and-13 from the 21, Lawrence threw short pass to Thomas, who was unable to hold on.
The crowd guffawed.
And early in the fourth quarter, on third-and-3, Thomas dropped a short Lawrence pass that would have resulted in a first down.
The crowd booed. Booed loudly. Booed out of frustration. Booed because their expectations for Thomas were not being met.
Thomas heard you.
"You can't really pay no mind to that; you know what you can do," he said.
Thomas decided it was time to show it.
'Keep fighting' mindset
The big play was vintage Thomas, if anything about a second-year pro can be vintage. Off coverage from the right slot. Skinny post route. Lawrence threw in 2.50 seconds. Thomas caught the ball.
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"I took off and that was it," he said.
That was it for that play, but it needs to be the start of something.
Too much pressure on Thomas? No way.
Did Thomas crack a bit starting in training camp? Maybe the pressure got to him. Only he knows, but he just seemed off during the practices that were open to the media. Against Carolina, he dropped his first target and against Cincinnati , he opened the door to all kinds of questions about his want-to level. He needed to do something to eliminate those doubts. The big catch won't completely do that, but it was a start.
"I just had to keep fighting," Thomas said. "A 60-minute game is a long game and my teammates had my back. Everything isn't going to go your way the whole time. You keep fighting and that's what happens when you keep fighting."
O'Halloran can be reached at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Did Brian Thomas Jr. get redemption with one catch? The Jaguars hope so
