The Jacksonville Jaguars franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence returned to action Sunday hosting the Houston Texans for a shot at revenge at Everbank Stadium. And before halftime, Lawrence would leave the game in a 23-20 loss. Whlie backup passer Mac Jones made a valiant effort, the Travis hunters within the Duval Devout hoping to get a high draft pick for the Heisman trophy favorite got another step on the track to tanking.

The Good

The Jaguars defense kept quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans out of the end zone for nearly 37 minutes of the game. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker both got to Stroud for sacks.

They managed to Hold the Texans to one touchdown in three red zone tries.

The Bad

Mac Jones had to enter the game after Trevor Lawrence got hurt. By then, Lawrence had already thrown an INT so it’s not like he was doing great, but losing your franchise quarterback on a cheap shot is never a good thing. However from a football perspective, three straight games scoring 20 points or less is certainly frustrating for the Duval Devout. In fairness, if Cam Little doesn’t miss the 55-yard field goal attempt, the Jags might have gotten extra football in overtime.

In Jones’ defense, he found rookie sensation wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in the endzone to put the game within one score with around 3:30 left. This was after he found wide receiver Parker Washington for his first touchdown pass since 2023. Jones also did not record a turnover for the first time in a game as a Jaguar.

The Spotty

An argument could be made for this being in the good for the way the Jags made it a brawl to defend their quarterback when the Texans’ Azeez Al-Shaair took a cheapshot on a sliding and defenselvess Trevor Lawrence. Surely he’ll have an envelope waiting for him at his locker Tuesday when the league hits him with a fine for his disgusting and blatant cheapshot. To make matters worse, Azeez Al-Shaair is a team captain participating in an action like this. This is why a Jaguars team captain, tight end Evan Engram, had to deliver justice on the field with a shot and scrap following the incident to incite offsetting penalties.

The question is does the league suspend Al-Shaair for that hit? Will the Duval Devout see Lawrence on the field again in 2024?