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Jaguars vs. Texans: Week 4 winners and losers

Jacksonville, we have a problem.

The worst team in football continued its self-destructive ways on Sunday as the Jacksonville Jaguars lost another game, this time 24-20 to the Houston Texans.

With less than four minutes to play, a three-point lead, and the ball, the Jaguars lost another football game they should have won. It's a story as old as time and a theme that will accompany this franchise for the foreseeable future.

There are winners this week, although not many. The players improved, but in the end it was still not enough for the Jags' first win of the season.

WINNER

Brian Thomas Jr.

Brian Thomas Jr. has easily been this team's lone bright spot in every game this season. He did everything and more that was asked of him and put in another great performance on Sunday. Thomas led the Jags in receiving with 86 yards on six catches. He caught one of the team's two touchdown passes. Other than Christian Kirk (seven catches, 61 yards and a score), Thomas was the only real pass-catching threat. Even with Evan Engram out, he will continue to be the team's No. 1 guy. 1 option, and rightly so.

Tank Bigsby

Even though the Jags didn't run the ball as often as they should, Tank Bigsby still had a great day. He finished the game with a team-high 90 yards rushing on seven touches, including a career-high 58 yards. This play was the team's biggest scrimmage win. Why the Jags are shutting down the run once it starts to work is beyond me, but at least Bigsby this year has been far from the pressure he had in his rookie season.

Ventrell Miller

As the replacement for Devin Lloyd and Foye Oluokun, Ventrell Miller probably got a lot of people excited. He led the team with 11 tackles and recorded one tackle for a loss. His pads popped on his spot start throughout the game. It's a good sign that the Jags actually have depth on this team, especially at a thin position group in linebackers. Miller can seemingly hold down the fort while the other two recover from injury and could be a key piece of the defense down the line.

LOSER

All other

Once again the Jaguars had the lead in a game they were in control of. And again they walk away as losers. Trying to stop Nico Collins on defense was like trying to put water on a tree, but the Jags forced five consecutive Texans punts in the second half. The only drive that wasn't a punt was the game-winning touchdown after the Jags completed a heroic three-play, one-yard drive that lasted 57 seconds. This team is coached poorly, executes poorly, and looks as bad as they come. Did I mention that the Jaguars still have the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft? Joe Flacco won a game this week. Trevor Lawrence hasn't won a game since November.

Trevor Lawrence

Speaking of the team's supposed savior: Sunday highlighted the problems that Lawrence has been struggling with for years. On back-to-back plays, Lawrence missed a wide-open touchdown to Christian Kirk and then threw Gabe Davis to the ground to end a drive the Jags desperately needed.

Lawrence just can't do it. The argument that his first season under Urban Meyer would fail is long over. His injury-plagued season last year doesn't explain why he can't hit a receiver's hands. There are currently no answers to this mystery, but it comes with a $300 million price tag. Next weekend, it's possible that Lawrence will be defeated by Flacco for the second time in a row. Not to mention, he'll be on Flacco's second team in as many years. At this point there must be some kind of exorcism.

The defensive line

I argued over the summer that the Jags had one of the best defenses in the NFL, at least on paper. The addition of Arik Armstead should catapult this unit to a game-destroying level, and with Ryan Nielsen at the helm, the Jags should be eating up sacks. So far there is literally nothing to show for it. Roy Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter recorded the team's only sacks. Travon Walker, Armstead and Josh Hines-Allen (who left early with a concussion) combined for six tackles. Aiden Hutchinson alone is better than all of the production for Jacksonville and that should make you sick as a Jags fan. Sure, JHA and Walker can pile on pressure like nobody's business, but what does that mean? What has it done for anyone this year? As high as expectations were for this unit, it will take an almost unprecedented turnaround for them to correct course at this pace.

Stop former Jags

Two former Jaguars made game-changing plays against their old team. The first was defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi, who stuffed Lawrence at the goal line on fourth down, keeping his team trailing by just three points. Then running back Dare Ogunbawale caught the game-winning touchdown pass. None of these guys were franchise players for Jacksonville in any way, but they certainly reminded the Jags that sometimes the grass is greener elsewhere. After Sunday's disappointment, the grass is certainly greener in Houston.

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