A game remembered for the wrong reasons.
Fresh from their bye week, the Jacksonville Jaguars displayed a familiar performance in the 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans.
If the Jags had managed to sneak a win, there would have been a possibility of a win streak and a slim shot at the playoffs.
However, with the Jags now needing to win all of their games, and rely on other results, it is with confidence we can shut down any postseason hopes this season.
The game itself followed a similar pattern of games before the bye week, with the failure to put together a sustained first drive, let alone score.
Even with Trevor Lawrence starting again for the first time since Week 9, the offense continued to struggle throughout the first half.
You would be forgiven for thinking it was a quiet game. Both defenses were holding firm, leading to a halftime score of 6-3.
However, minutes from the end of the second quarter all chaos broke loose on the field. Azeez Al-Shaair, the linebacker for the Texans, illegally hit Lawrence as he initiated the quarterback slide at the end of his scramble.
Both benches erupted into a brawl, as Lawrence lay motionless on the turf and attended to by the medical team.
Within the aftermath of this truly dirty tackle, Al-Shaair was ejected from the game. Jags cornerback, Jarrian Jones, was also disqualified for his role in the aftermath.
Unsurprisingly, Lawrence was carted off the field and immediately ruled out of the remainder of the game leaving Mac Jones to lead the offense once again.
Jags comeback falls short
At the start of the second half, it seemed as if the Texans would run away with the game. Touchdowns from Joe Mixon and Dalton Schultz put Houston 23-6 up.
To the Jags credit, they did not drop their heads. The defense put up some crucial stops while Jones lead two fourth-quarter touchdowns drives to keep the scoreline close.
However, with two minutes on the clock and no timeouts remaining, the defense could not stop a first down which led to Texans running down the clock and winning the game.
It is the belief though that underpins this team. They did not give up. They kept fighting and will continue to do so.
The attention now turns to Lawrence and the rest of the season potentially without the face of the franchise.
