HOUSTON, Texas – There was improvement, and that mattered.

However there were areas, too, that remained as they too often have been for the Jaguars recently. One area was the red zone, and the struggles there Sunday are a reason they still have not won a game this season.

The offense moved effectively Sunday. Just not when it mattered most.

"We have to come away with points; I feel like that has been a common theme of the season," Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr said following a 24-20 loss to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, Sunday.

The Jaguars, after scoring two touchdowns on eight possessions inside their opponents' 20-yard line in Week 2 and 3 losses to the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills, matched their season-best red-zone performance Sunday. As they did in a Week 1 loss to Miami, they scored touchdowns on two of three red-zone possessions Sunday.

As was the case against Miami, the one red-zone failure was a big one.

"I feel like that's why we're taking Ls instead of Ws," Etienne said. "We just have to finish in that red zone and it will be a whole different story."

The Jaguars on Sunday led 20-17 when running back Tank Bigsby's 58-yard run gave them first-and-goal at the Texans 4-yard line late in the third quarter. Two runs by Bigsby netted three yards, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence throwing incomplete to wide receiver Gabe Davis on third down.

Texans defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi stopped Lawrence – running from shotgun formation – on fourth-and-goal from the one on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Head Coach Doug Pederson afterward called his decision to go for a first down rather than attempt a short field goal "a moot point."

"It doesn't matter now, so I'm not going to talk about it," he said.

Lawrence said the Jaguars tried to run the first-down run to Bigsby quickly following the second-year veteran's long run.

"We hit the big play, went down there and tried to stay with some tempo and catch them on their heels and score," he said. "That's something that we've done a lot in the past and we've been successful at, just didn't work that time."

Lawrence added, "On fourth and one, we have to make a play. Coach puts it in our hands and I love it. I love staying aggressive and there's a chance for us to get seven points instead of three and I love it and I like that he trusts us and we just have to be better."

This was the third Jaguars loss this season in which red-zone efficiency proved critical. Etienne's third-quarter fumble into the end zone for a touchback in Miami prevented the Jaguars from taking a 17-point lead. They settled for a field goal against Cleveland after a penalty negated a touchdown pass from Lawrence to wide receiver Christian Kirk that would have given them a third-quarter lead.

"We put a lot of great things on tape today," Etienne said. "We just have to finish."

The Jaguars' 313 total yards were their second-highest total of the season, and they were two near-miss passes from Lawrence to Kirk and rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. from their best offensive day of the season. None of which mattered late Sunday.

"Situationally, we have to be better in the red zone," Lawrence said. "We have to score. We had the fourth-down stop on the one-yard line. That's an easy one to take away and say that changes the game.

"You have to capitalize on that and you'd love to have those seven points on the board so it doesn't come down to the very end and having to do that. You love to control the game more if you can, when you have the opportunity. It seems like the close games we've had has been some red-zone issues."

NOTABLE WEEK 4 GAME MOMENTS

• Pederson on Sunday was asked if he would consider taking over play-calling. Pederson this season has yet to say whether he or offensive coordinator Press Taylor is calling plays. Pederson and Taylor split the duties in 2022, with Taylor calling plays in second halves of games and Pederson calling them in the first half. Taylor called plays in all games last season. "For what?" Pederson said Sunday when asked about a change. "I thought he called a great game. As coaches, we can't go out there and make the plays, right? It's a two-way street, so you guys can sit here and point the finger all you want, and that's fine. Point it right at me. I can take it, okay? I can take it. So, whatever you want to ask me, say, write, go ahead."
• Pederson also was asked if he was concerned about his job status after an 0-4 start. "My status?" he said. "I mean, no. That's kind of a strange question, but okay."

QUOTABLE WEEK 4 POSTGAME MOMENTS

• Etienne: "We have to just focus on this game, focus on the one we got coming up, and just go out there and just try to make it the best game that we played this season. That's how we start getting 1-0 each and every week. We just have to focus on the game that we have at hand, little details – be more efficient in the red zone, execute on third downs – and things are going to work out for us."