Week 7 Game Recap: Jacksonville Jaguars 7, Houston Texans 27

What you need to know

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars could not generate much offense and were fairly ineffective on defense, which added up to them losing the game to the Texans. Although Fred Taylor did not have many opportunities in the first half, he ran effectively when he touched the ball. However, Taylor fumbled in the third quarter, which led to a Houston touchdown that extended their lead, and Jacksonville was forced to abandon the running game in an effort to catch up. They were unsuccessful however, as a subsequent turnover led to another Houston touchdown that effectively sealed the loss for Jacksonville.

Taylor showed a very good combination of power, speed and elusiveness on several of his rushing attempts and was Jacksonville’s most productive runner in this game. The Jaguars only displayed a commitment to the running game in the third quarter, and were effective when they did. On their lone trip inside the red zone, the Jaguars ran Maurice Jones-Drew three times, resulting in their only score in the game. On their next series, Taylor ran very effectively until his fumble, which occurred just outside the Houston 20 yard line at the end of the third quarter. Taylor finished with 84 yards on 16 rushing attempts.

Jaguars’ quarterback Byron Leftwich started the game despite uncertainty as to whether he would recover from an ankle injury he suffered late in the week, but could not get in sync with his receivers. Leftwich overthrew open receivers several times throughout the game, and was also victimized by dropped passes on some accurate throws. Further compounding Jacksonville’s struggles were two catches by Ernest Wilford that were both good for first downs, being called back due to offensive penalties. In addition, Wilford was stripped after making a reception in the fourth quarter that led to Houston taking a 24-7 lead. Leftwich ended with pedestrian number of 14 completions in 28 passing attempts for 125 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Jacksonville’s defense did not take advantage of early opportunities to help their team. They had an interception taken away as a result of a penalty by another defender on the same play in the first quarter. In the second quarter a Jaguars’ defender dropped a pass that he should have caught, and the Texans capitalized by scoring a touchdown on that drive. Once Houston had a sizable lead, they were able to run successfully on the Jaguars defense. As a result, the Jaguars’ pass defense was not able to put a lot of pressure on David Carr later in the game.

Houston Texans

The Texans’ offense overcame a sluggish start to take advantage of turnovers by Jacksonville to score 27 points. Once they took the lead, they were able to run effectively to take time off the clock and wear the Jaguars’ defense down. Houston had nine plays inside the red zone, and ran the ball on seven of those nine plays, one of which resulted in a rushing touchdown by Wali Lundy. As a result of their effective running game, David Carr was able to connect to a wide open Owen Daniels off of a fake to the running back from the 14 yard line.

Although Samkon Gado started the game, he gave way to Wali Lundy, who ran much more effectively. Lundy ran aggressively, hitting holes quickly, and getting past the line of scrimmage on the vast majority of his runs. The Texans showed their commitment to him by giving him the ball on consecutive plays from the three yard line, and were rewarded by him rushing for a touchdown. The nest time Houston was inside the ten yard line, Lundy ran three consecutive times, although this time Houston settled for a field goal. Lundy finished with 93 yards in 19 rushing attempts with one touchdown.

David Carr took advantage of an effective running game to turn in an efficient performance. He was asked to throw mostly short and intermediate passes in an effort to neutralize Jacksonville’s pass rush, and he did a good job following the game plan. Carr was accurate on those passes, and also showcased nice touch on a deep pass in the end zone to Andre Johnson for Houston’s first score. Carr completed 25 of 34 passes for 224 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and displayed poise and confidence throughout the contest.

The Texans’ defense was aggressive throughout, and made big plays that contributed to Houston’s victory. The Texans stripped the ball from Jaguars’ offensive players twice and recovered the ball on both occasions. These plays were converted into touchdowns, which forced the Jaguars to revert to a one-dimensional attack featuring the passing game, which helped the Texans’ defense be more effective. Although they did not record any interceptions and just one sack the Texans applied pressure to Leftwich throughout and caused him to rush several passes.

What you ought to know

QB Byron Leftwich, Pass: 14 - 28 - 125 - 0 TD / 0 INT

Leftwich did not play well during this game. Although his receivers dropped some catchable passes, he missed open receivers several times. He was unable to get into a rhythm with his receivers, and seemed uncomfortable throughout. Leftwich did not complete a pass to someone other than a running back until the second half. Even when the Jaguars had to abandon the running game in an effort to catch up, Leftwich was unable to connect with his receivers very often, and could not sustain drives. He had been questionable to play after injuring his ankle late in the week during practice. It was the same ankle that he broke last year.

RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 16 - 84 - 0, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets)

Taylor ran well, showing good speed, power and elusiveness on several rushing attempts. He became a non-factor after his fumble in the third quarter was converted into a Houston touchdown, and Jacksonville was forced to abandon the running game. Still, he finished with respectable numbers of 84 yards on 16 carries and 19 yards on one reception.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 8 - 10 - 1, Rec: 7 - 58 - 0 (9 targets)

Jones-Drew was not a factor running the ball, but was the most effective player in the passing game, turning short passes into positive yards on most of the passes thrown his way. Jones-Drew was the featured back during the only time the Jaguars were inside Houston’s ten yard line, and he ran the ball three times, culminating with a touchdown run after a penalty on Houston kept the drive alive. He again showed his combination of elusiveness and power, as the first defender he encountered almost never brought him down. Jones-Drew was the running back on the vast majority of Jacksonville’s third down plays.

RB Derrick Wimbush, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets)

Wimbush was used primarily for his blocking when he was in the game.

WR Cortez Hankton, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (3 targets)

Hankton was not used much, but did catch two of the three passes thrown his way.

WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 2 - 26 - 0 (9 targets)

Wilford was targeted the most by Leftwich, but ended with just two receptions. He fumbled one of those receptions, which provide to be costly, and had two catches called back due to offensive penalties. Wilford was targeted in the red zone, and was able to get a pass interference call on the defender covering him. He was open on other occasions, but Leftwich overthrew him several times.

WR Reggie Williams, Rush: 1 - 8 - 0 (4 targets)

Williams had a forgettable game. While he was not targeted very often, he dropped a couple of passes that were accurate.

TE George Wrighster, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (3 targets)

Wrighster was a non-factor in the passing game.

TE Marcedes Lewis (1 targets)

The lone pass thrown to Lewis was thrown over his head.

PK Josh Scobee 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points

Scobee did not have much to do in this game, and converted his only kicking opportunity, which was an extra point.

JAX Rush Defense

Jacksonville’s rush defense was effective at the beginning, as they contained Gado, but they could not stop Wali Lundy when he came into the game. They were especially ineffective when it was obvious Houston was going to run the ball in an effort to preserve the lead, as Lundy averaged 4.8 yards per rushing attempt.

JAX Pass Defense

Jacksonville’s pass defense suffered as a result of their rush defense being ineffective. However, they did not capitalize on opportunities to create turnovers early in the game, dropping an interception and having one taken away due to a defensive penalty. Thanks to the effectiveness of Houston’s running game keeping them off balance, the Jaguars were unable to pressure Carr very often, and only recorded one sack.

QB David Carr, Pass: 25 - 34 - 224 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 12 - 0

Carr was very efficient, making very accurate and timely throws and putting his receivers in position to make plays. He was accurate with his short and intermediate throws, completing eight consecutive passes at one point. Although the game plan called for the more conservative passing attack, he displayed nice touch and arm strength on a long touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, with whom he showed tremendous confidence in throughout the game.

RB Wali Lundy, Rush: 19 - 93 - 1, Rec: 4 - 15 - 0 (4 targets)

Lundy turned in a strong performance, running decisively with power to finish with 93 yards rushing and 15 yards receiving. Lundy made it through the line of scrimmage on the majority of his rushing attempts, and was the running back on the field for all of the Texan’ red zone and goal line plays. In the second half, he remained in the game on all of the downs.

RB Samkon Gado, Rush: 10 - 27 - 0, Rec: 3 - 15 - 0 (4 targets)

Gado ran hard and with power in the first half, but did not produce many big plays. He gave way to Lundy for the majority of the second half.

RB Jameel Cook, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (5 targets)

The fullback was used as an outlet receiver a few times and ran with determination and power.

WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 8 - 106 - 1 (10 targets)

Johnson had an excellent game, showing his completeness as a receiver by making catches on a variety of routes, including passes over the middle and along the sideline when he routinely broke tackles and gained extra yards. His touchdown catch was on a deep pass in which he was double-covered, but leapt in the air to make the catch. Johnson was Carr’s most targeted and most effective receiver, and displayed an impressive combination of route running, strength and speed.

WR Eric Moulds, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (5 targets)

Moulds was used exclusively on short routes in this game, and posted modest numbers. He was targeted just once in the second half.

WR Kevin Walter, Rec: 2 - 28 - 0 (2 targets)

Walter made the most of his limited opportunities in the passing game, catching both passes thrown his way.

TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 2 - 20 - 1 (3 targets)

Daniels caught two of the three passes thrown to him, including a 14 yard touchdown pass where he was wide open after a fake to the running back.

PK Kris Brown 2 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points

Brown made all three of his point after attempts and two field goal attempts from 43 and 21 yards, with one miss from 38 yards.

HOU Rush Defense

Houston’s run defense was average and benefited from Jacksonville having to abandon it in an attempt to score points quickly. Fred Taylor averaged 5.25 yards per carry in 16 rushing attempts, and Maurice Jones-Drew scored on a one yard run up the middle. They did however, strip the ball from Taylor and recovered the fumble, setting up a touchdown for their offense.

HOU Pass Defense

Houston’s pass defense was aggressive and although they only recorded one sack, they applied pressure to Leftwich constantly, forcing him to hurry some throws that resulted in him missing open receivers. The Texans’ pass defense also recorded a turnover by stripping Wilford in the fourth quarter, and recovering the ball, which set up another touchdown by their offense.