The Texans blew an opportunity to take control of the AFC South and fell two games behind the Jaguars, tied with the Colts for second place.
The defense gave up too many explosive plays and was called for too many penalties on third down, almost all that were questionable.
DeMeco Ryans had to burn two timeouts that left him with only one for the last drive. The pass protection broke down too many times. And fans found out Matt Ammendola couldn't kick field goals of 50 and 58 yards in a three-point defeat.
Grade: C-minus
This defeat can't be blamed on C.J. Stroud. After committing six turnovers in the last two games, both victories, he didn't have an interception or fumble, and the Texans still lost.
Stroud completed 26-of-36 (72.2 completion percentage) for 304 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown and finished as the leading rusher with 47 yards on six carries. Stroud averaged 8.3 yards per pass attempt and finished with a 116.0 rating.
But he was sacked four times, including 2.5 by end Josh Allen. Stoud's sacks cost the offense 43 yards in losses. Ten players caught at least one pass.
Grade: A-minus
Even though Dameon Pierce returned from a three-game absence because of an ankle injury, it figured that he and Devin Singletary would have trouble running the ball against a Jacksonville defense that was fourth against the run.
Coming off back-to-back 100-yard games, Singletary started and carried six times for 18 yards, including a 14-yard run. Pierce finished with 14 yards on 5 carries.
The backs had very little room to run.
Grade: D
Nico Collins closed as the leading receiver with seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Tank Dell had five catches for 50 yards in the first half and got shut out in the second half. He had a magnificent 62-yard reception wiped out because he wasn't lined up correctly. His longest catch was 33 yards.
Robert Woods also had an explosive catch of 26 yards, as did Xavier Hutchinson with 34 yards.
Grade: B
This position was almost non-existent Sunday. Dalton Schultz, who had been outstanding in recent games, was targeted only two times and finished with one catch for 2 yards.
Backup Brevin Jordan was targeted twice and caught one for 9 yards. Either they weren't getting open or the game plan called for the wideouts to get almost all of the attention.
Grade: F
After looking so good in recent games, the linemen got manhandled for most of the games. They failed to run block and pass protect, especially in crucial situations.
Left guard Tytus Howard left with a knee injury and was replaced by rookie Juice Scruggs. Before he was injured in preseason, Scruggs played center. He played guard in college.
The pass blockers couldn't keep defensive end Josh Allen away from C.J. Stroud. Allen had 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and knocked down Stroud four times.
Grade: F-plus
The linemen played terrific run defense, but the pass rush was awful. Not only was quarterback Trevor Lawrence not sacked, but he was knocked down only two times, including one by Jonathan Greenard.
That's the only quarterback hit by a lineman. No other lineman got close enough to Lawrence to tell what he had for breakfast.
A very disappointing performance on the pass rush, especially considering left tackle Cam Robinson left in the first half with a knee injury.
Grade: C
Christian Harris was in on 12 tackles, including seven unassisted. He had one tackle for loss and one of two Trevor Lawrence knockdowns.
Blake Cashman participated in six tackles. The linebackers contributed to the strong run defense that surrendered 81 yards and only 2.7 a carry.
Grade: B-minus
Trevor Lawrence had four completions of at least 42 yards but not all the fault of the secondary. Still, explosive pass plays have become an issue lately, and a big problem is not enough pressure on the quarterback.
Derek Stingley Jr. had his second consecutive impressive performance. His interception set up a touchdown drive. He was in on five tackles and knocked down two passes.
Tavierre Thomas had a rough second half, getting called for two penalties and allowing a touchdown. Steven Nelson had a questionable holding call against him.
Grade: C
Matt Ammendola missed field goals from 50 and 58 yards. The first one at the end of the first half was wide right. The second one hit the crossbar with 29 seconds left in the game.
DeMeco Ryans had to burn a timeout when the return punt team had too many men on the field. Coverage teams allowed a 22-yard punt return. Cam Johnston was the bright spot, as always. On his four punts, he had a 48-yard gross average and a 42.5 net. Two went out inside the 20.
Grade: D
DeMeco Ryans had to burn two timeouts because of mental mistakes by his players. He could have called on C.J. Stroud to go for it on fourth-and-12 at the Jaguars' 39 with 34 seconds left, but he elected to have Matt Ammendola try a 58-yard field goal even though he'd never made one in the NFL from the 50.
To be fair, Ammendola was accurate, but the ball hit the crossbar with 29 seconds remaining. Offensively, the Texans couldn't run the ball. Defensively, they couldn't stop big plays. And on special teams, they cost what would have been a valuable timeout and missed two long field goals.
Grade: D-plus
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on SportsRadio 610 and Monday, Thursday and Sunday on Texans Radio, also on SportsRadio 610. He writes five columns a week and does three Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.
