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Jacksonville Jaguars Up-Down drill: Ugly hit on Trevor Lawrence mars 23-20 loss to Texans
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- Jacksonville Jaguars Up-Down drill: Ugly hit on Trevor Lawrence mars 23-20 loss to Texans
Looking at the good, the bad and the ugly from the Jaguars' 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans at EverBank Stadium.
Up: Trevor uplifting message
Given the appalling nature in which Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered a concussion Sunday on an unnecessary vicious hit by Texans' linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair , it was encouraging to see him post a positive message on X , formerly Twitter, several hours after the game. Lawrence tweeted: "Thank you to everyone who has reached out / been praying for me. I'm home and feeling better. Means a lot, thank you all (followed by a hands raised emoji)."
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, seen here being carted off the field after taking a vicious hit by Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, missed seven games in 2024 and had season-ending surgery on a sprained AC joint. That factored heavily into the team's offense performing well below expectations.
Down: Lowdown, dirty shame
Al-Shaair already had a reputation for playing with a dangerous edge to him. The Texans' sixth-year linebacker added to that image by hitting Lawrence with a forearm shiver to the head as he was giving himself up by sliding to the ground. In a Week 2 win over the Chicago Bears , after Al-Shaair rode quarterback Caleb Williams out of bounds, he punched special teams player Roschon Johnson after his momentum took him into the Bears' bench. Al-Shaair was fined about $11,000 for that hit, so it's not exactly a shock that he crossed way over the line with that hit on Lawrence.
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Down: Offense slow out of gate again
During a season where the Jaguars have scored a measly 26 points in the first quarter, they were shut out in the opening 15 minutes for the seventh time in 12 games. In fact, the Jaguars' offense managed just 66 yards on 19 plays (3.4-yard average) while Lawrence was in the game. On a deep ball intended for an open Brian Thomas Jr. , Lawrence failed to get enough on the pass as his receiver was forced to slow down to catch it. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. , running a couple steps behind Thomas, was able to catch up to the ball and come up with the only interception of the game.
Down: Injuries catching up to Lawrence
After Lawrence missed one game last year and played hurt with various ailments in several others, his health is becoming an even bigger issue this season. After missing two starts with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, adding a concussion to the mix when the team has little to play for could put the remainder of Lawrence's season in jeopardy. It was a scary sight to see his hands lock up as he laid on the ground following Al-Shaair's ugly hit. Lawrence's availability for Sunday's game at Tennessee would appear to be in serious doubt.
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Down: Postseason carrot disappearing
With Sunday's loss, the 2-10 Jaguars were eliminated from the AFC South race because they can only win a maximum seven games, while Houston registered its eighth win. If the Denver Broncos win or tie at home Monday night against the Cleveland Browns , that would eliminate the Jaguars from the AFC wild-card picture on Dec. 2. The last time the Jaguars were eliminated from the playoffs at an earlier date came on Nov. 29, 2020 when the team that finished 1-15 lost 27-25 at home to the Cleveland Browns.
Down: Little FG streak ends
After making his first two field goal attempts to extend his consecutive successful FG makes to 15, Jaguars' rookie placekicker was wide left on a 55-yard attempt in the third quarter, which gave the Texans good field position and led to a Ka'imi Fairbairn field goal for a 16-6 Houston lead. Little's streak of 15 made attempts is a Jaguars rookie kicker record and his field goal percentage is still a robust 89.4 percent.
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Up: Quarterback bodyguards
After the Texans recorded eight sacks last week against the Tennessee Titans , the NFL's top sack duo of Danielle Hunter (10.5 sacks) and Will Anderson (9.5 sacks) barely laid a hand on Lawrence or his replacement, Mac Jones . Houston had zero sacks in a combined 42 pass attempts by Jaguars quarterbacks. It marked the third time this season an opponent was held without a sack, which happened in a Week 5 home win over the Indianapolis Colts and a victory over the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium in London.
Down: Not the Comeback Cats
Once again, the Jaguars lost a game in which it trailed only 6-3 at halftime. It marked the 16th consecutive game where Jacksonville lost when trailing or tied at intermission. The last time the Jaguars won when it was down at halftime came against the Tennessee Titans in Week 18 of the 2022 season. The Jaguars trailed Tennessee 13-7 at halftime and went on to beat the Titans 20-16 to win the AFC South division title.
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Up: Darby's lucky bounce
Houston Texans receiver Tank Dell got behind the Jaguars' secondary on a deep route over the middle, but he was forced to wait on the third-down pass from quarterback C.J. Stroud because the ball was underthrown. It allowed cornerback Ronald Darby to catch up to Dell as the ball bounced off the back of Darby's helmet at the Jaguars' 7-yard-line, saving what initially looked like a Texans' touchdown.
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) can’t haul in a touchdown reception against Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. (24), right, and safety Calen Bullock (21) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Texans held off the Jaguars 23-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Down: Thomas' numbers
While four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown is a reasonably productive day for receiver Brian Thomas Jr., it could have been so much more. He was open on two deep routes, but one pass from Lawrence was underthrown and intercepted by Derek Stingley Jr. Another deep-ball pass from Jones at the Houston 25 in the third quarter was overthrown, but he did hit Thomas on a short crossing route two plays later that led to the game's longest gain of 56 yards. Two plays before Thomas caught a 7-yard TD pass, he couldn't hang on after initially grabbing a potential 24-yard pass in the end zone, only to have the ball punched out by safety Calen Bullock . Thomas also dropped a 17-yard pass from Jones on the Jaguars' first TD drive when he was all alone in the middle of the field at the Jaguars' 45.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' dreadful season gets worse with QB Lawrence suffering concussion
