Sports Column

Jaguars Overmatched, Drop Fourth Straight

By Lorenzino Estrada

The feeling was reluctant, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone. Waking up on Sunday wasn’t the same as it has been in past weeks. The excitement was gone, the passion was gone and hope was gone. The Jaguars season has greatly disappointed, with losses that make you scratch your head, and this week was another example.

The Jaguars were put down at home to the Texans, 24-21, dropping to 2-7.

Across the board, the Jaguars were out of sync. The offense, while they did end their drought of not scoring in the first quarter, was mediocre at best. Blake Bortles was average and struggled under the pressure of a Houston pass rush, and the receivers went with him. Running backs Chris Ivory and TJ Yeldon couldn’t find the open lanes to hit, resulting in another abysmal running attack. Past the midpoint of the season, it looks like the Jaguars offense will not be able to get it together.

The bright spot of the team, the defense, also struggled. The Texans were able to run down the Jaguars throat and show no mercy. A surplus of running backs were able to do this against the defense, each bursting out their own huge plays. The secondary was able to limit Brock Osweiler to only 99 passing yards, but it wasn’t enough.

Despite being out-played by the Texans, the Jaguars were still in the game, only needing one stop, which they failed to get. Osweiler hit Pro-Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for enough yardage to get the first down, leading to the Jaguars’ fourth straight loss.

The games are now dwindling for the Jaguars in the Gus Bradley era, and that has fans excited for the future. The rest of this season is now time to seek out improvement for everyone. Many questions need to be answered for this team, now is the time to find out.