The Houston Texans’ nightmare season reached a new low late Thursday night, falling to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a second time this season. On the positive side, Houston furthered their campaign to claim the top draft selection in next year’s draft. So, what did we learn in the Texans’ eleventh straight loss?
First and foremost, Matt Schaub is still a better quarterback than Case Keenum. In addition to that, it seems somewhat obvious Keenum isn’t the quarterback of the future in Houston.
Statistically, Matt Schaub wasn’t actually that much better than Keenum, especially after throwing a game-ending interception with just over two minutes to play. That being said, Schaub clearly provided a spark, shock, or some other positive motivation to the Texans’ offense. One would believe Matt Schaub did enough to earn his spot in the starting lineup. Now, the Texans have to determine whether they’ll move forward with Schaub, and if the answer is no, it’ll be on to the draft to find a new quarterback.
The Texans’ defense didn’t do the offense any favors in the opening quarter of the game. The Jaguars were able to jump all over Houston, who by any measure are stocked with far more talent than Jags, but were completely unprepared for the Jaguars’ energy.
As much as the Texans fell in their loss in Jacksonville, the Jaguars shouldn’t walk away with a win and no credit. Starting 0-8, the Jaguars should have been one of the most down-trodden teams in the league. By the stats, the Jaguars have the worst offense in the league and a porous defense. Since their bye week, the Jaguars have gone 4-1, and they now own the longest winning streak in the AFC at three games. Sure, they haven’t played the best teams in their past five games, but they’re winning, which is more than you could have said of the Jags before the bye week.
Having watched each of the Jaguars’ games this season, it’s not hard to see where the difference is being made. The Texans were penalized 14 times for 177 yards. Earlier in the season, that stat line would have been in the Jaguars’ column, but in recent weeks, the Jaguars have done a far better job not killing their own chances to win. Obviously, that’s a point of serious concern for the Texans moving forward.
At 2-11, the Texans are the worst team in the NFL, and they own the first overall pick in the 2014 with no tie-breakers needed. Matt Schaub’s future may be up in the air right now, but there’s no question major changes are coming to Houston. At the very least, a new coaching staff will be brought in to put the Texans back on track, but players are also playing for their own jobs.
