Jaguars defense survives and even thrives in another game when losing the turnover battle

Losing the turnover battle is supposed to be a losing proposition in the NFL.

The Jacksonville Jaguars keep defying that mantra this season.

The Jaguars lost in turnover margin to the Houston Texans 1-0 on Sunday at NGR Stadium in Houston but won the game 24-21 after the Texans' Matt Ammendola bounced a 58-yard field goal attempt off the crossbar with 29 seconds left.

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The Jags are 3-2 this season when losing the turnover battle. Their only losses in those situations was to Houston on Sept. 14 (the Jags had a fumble and interception, and the Texans did not have a turnover) and to San Francisco on Nov. 12 (the Jaguars didn't get a turnover and gave up the football four times).

But the Jags have since beaten the Texans in the return match and also topped New Orleans and Pittsburgh when having more turnovers than the defense forced. The Jags lost the turnover battle 2-1 to the Saints and 3-2 to the Steelers.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said the difference Sunday was the pass rush. The Jaguars had four sacks (led by Josh Allen with 2.5 to move into second place all-time in franchise history) and seven quarterback hits on C.J. Stroud.

"We've talked a lot about turnovers and that's obviously a big factor in wins and losses," Pederson said during a Zoom call Monday. "I think the other thing here is the defense had four sacks for a minus-43 yards ... that's huge as well."

Pederson touched on a trend for this defense: In the three games the Jaguars have lost the turnover battle, they have beaten opposing teams in sacks (8-3) and quarterback hits (23-8).

Pederson also praised coordinator Mike Caldwell's unit for their intensity and tenacity in making stops that result in punts and field-goal attempts and for their situational play.

Four of Houston's first five possessions in the first half ended in punts and a missed field-goal attempt and in the fourth quarter, the Jags got a stop on downs and the final possession that resulted in Ammendola's missed field-goal attempt.

"I credit that as a turnover," Pederson said of the turnover on downs.

And that stop carried the emotional weight of a turnover. After Brandon McManus made his third field goal of the game to give the Jaguars a 24-14 lead early in the fourth period, the Texans got a quick first down when Tank Dell gained 12 yards on a reverse.

Two plays later the Texans had a third-and-one at their own 46, but Stroud threw two incomplete passes in which the intended receivers were well-covered (Darious Williams on Dell, with Allen and Jeremiah Ledbetter closing in; then Rayshawn Jenkins on tight end Dalton Schultz).

The other key defensive plays were on Houston's final possession, which started at their own 11 thanks to another precise Logan Cooke punt.

The Texans moved to a first down at their own 47, but Allen sacked Stroud for a loss of 5 yards. Stroud recovered from that to hit Robert Woods with a 14-yard gain to the Jags' 37, but Allen and Travon Walker combined on a sack for a loss of 9 yards, eventually forcing the Texans to try for the long-distance field-goal attempt by Ammendola.

"Mike has them playing, obviously, at a really high level," Pederson said of his defensive coordinator. "They're playing fast ... the secondary did a nice job covering up guys when C.J. went into scramble mode. I just think the guys have really bought into Mike and his scheme. We've talked a lot about the second year in the system and playing with more confidence and playing fast. I think that's a credit to Mike and his staff."

Caldwell's first priority has been stopping the run and forcing teams to pass. The Jags are fourth in the NFL against the run, allowing 87.3 yards per game and the Texans (91 yards on Sunday) are the seventh opponent the Jaguars have held below 100 yards.

The Jags are 29th against the pass but that's deceptive because opponents have been forced to pass: In seven of the eight victories, the Jaguars have had an average lead of 12.6 points entering the final quarter, and three times had leads of 15 or more points.

Doug Pederson explains his 1-second gamble

Pederson said he would have sent the field-goal team out for a nearly automatic 18-yard three points from McManus on the final play of the first half on Sunday had it not been for one simple fact: the Jaguars were receiving the second-half kickoff.

The lure of scoring from the 1-yard line for a 20-7 halftime lead, then having another chance to score on the first possession of the third quarter, was too much to pass up.

"We had the ball to start the third quarter," Pederson said. "Had we not, I'm taking three points there."

The Jaguars had the chance when quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed a 57-yard pass to Christian Kirk, with Kirk pushed out of bounds near the goal line with one second left. Without hesitation, Pederson kept the offense on the field and sent in Blake Hance and Tyler Shatley as eligible receivers, giving the Jags seven offensive linemen.

Lining up unbalanced right, Lawrence got the snap on a quick count and pitched the ball to Travis Etienne. He was swallowed up for a loss by Brian Cashman and Desmond King.

"Let's not mistake ourselves saying, 'Oh, he went out on a limb ... he's being overly aggressive," Pederson said. "There was a logical reason for making that decision and we were getting the football [to start the second half]. If the defense were to start in the third quarter, it's a no-brainer ... one second left, get the three points. I'm going to continue to trust our players and put them in those situations. Credit Houston ... they made a great play."

Luke Farrell getting more targets

Jaguars tight end Luke Farrell, used primarily as a blocker, has seven targets and five pass receptions for 76 yards in his last two games, and caught three for 55 yards against the Texans, both career-highs.

Farrell's 10 catches this season have nearly doubled his career total of 11 in his first two seasons, and his 111 yards have topped his career mark of 96 entering the season.

Farrell has been getting roughly the same number of offensive snaps — 20 or more in nine of the Jags' 11 games — but he had only five targets in the first nine games, with five receptions for 35 yards.

He had a huge play in the second quarter, taking a short pass and rumbling 42 yards to set up a McManus field goal.

Farrell did have a drop on the goal line in the third quarter, but Lawrence hit Calvin Ridley for the touchdown a play later.

Pederson said he has every confidence in Farrell, who was drafted in the fifth round in 2021 despite catching only 12 passes in his last two seasons at Ohio State.

"He is a good-receiving tight end," Pederson said. "He's got great hands; you can see the strength and the ability to run after the catch. It depends on the defense dictates to us whether or we not we call those [players to Farrell] and this past week was an opportunity for us to get the movement game and get Trevor on the edge and Luke the football. We try to get everyone involved and he's a big part of that."

Jaguars getting better on third down

After starting the season with a 29.4 percentage on converting third downs in the first four games, and 37.4 in the first seven, the Jags are improving their third-down conversion rate.

The Jags made 7 of 13 against the Texans, only the second time all season they were better than 50 percent. The offense is converting 42 percent over the last four games.

There's no magic formula, Pederson said. The Jaguars are simply executing better.

"It's an area that we're focused on all season and it was good yesterday to stay on the field and extend drives," he said. "The offensive line blocked extremely well, the running backs picked up pressure when they needed to so it was really a good team effort on third down to stay on the field."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Pass rush, intensity enable Jaguars defense to overcome lack of turnovers