The night started strong for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but it ended in frustration. They were leading by 19 points at one point. Then, everything unraveled. Houston drove 65, 51, and then 93 yards, all ending in touchdowns. By the time the final whistle blew, the scoreboard read 36-29, and the mood in the locker room was heavy. And head coach Liam Coen didn’t sugarcoat it.

After the game, Coen made it clear where his frustration was pointing: the pass rush. “When you blitz, you’re a little susceptible in the back end,” Coen said before getting to brass tacks of the situation.

“When we four-man rush, we’re not getting home. That’s the reality, and that’s a hard place for any coach to be in, and players as well at times.” So far this season, that’s exactly been the story.

The Jaguars have struggled to generate consistent pressure with just four men up front.

They walked into Week 10 with only 10 sacks, the fewest in the league. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker have combined for just four. After Sunday, the total sits at 12. For a defense that was supposed to be the backbone of this team, that number is flat-out disappointing.

Still, Coen wasn’t looking to place blame on any one group. He knows it’s bigger than that.

“That’s something we definitely need to talk about as a staff and as a group that hasn’t been good enough all season and wasn’t good enough today. There’s a combination; it’s never one group’s fault when you lose a game. That’s not what we’re gonna do here, but it definitely is a challenge for us at the moment.”

And yet, the issue was hard to ignore.

Time and time again, Jacksonville had Davis Mills cornered, but somehow, he slipped away. Whether it was missed tackles or slow pursuit, the result was the same. Mills made plays, extended drives, and ultimately stole the game away.

Davis Mills played great against Liam Coen’s team

For most of the night, it looked like Jacksonville had it locked up. With about 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the scoreboard read 29-10, and The Bank crowd was already buzzing for a win. Then, out of nowhere, Davis Mills flipped the script.

The Houston quarterback led back-to-back touchdown drives and capped it all with a rushing score of his own. Suddenly, the once-comfortable lead was gone, and the Texans were alive.

Stat-wise, Mills was sharp. He completed 27 of 45 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He also added a 14-yard go-ahead rushing score that sealed the win. Even more impressively, he was only sacked twice despite 45 dropbacks.

When blitzed, Mills completed just eight passes on 18 drop-backs for 8.39 yards per attempt, one touchdown, and a 38.9% success rate, according to NextGenStats.

It turned into a comeback game for Mills, his first start since January 2023. Mills has a passer rating of 77.6 with 452 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception in 3 games this season.

The Texans now sit at 4-5 and will face the Titans next Sunday. If Mills keeps this form, Houston might just have found its spark again.