RECAP: Referees decide to take part in game, Texans lose to Jaguars 24-21

Well, that sucked.

Conventionally, during a football game, only two teams are allowed to play on the field at any given time; one team’s offense and the other team’s defense, or vice versa and special teams and that’s it.

It’s not common to see a third team interfering with the game and making a spectacle of themselves and not be called the Harlem Globetrotters.

But today’s game between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, once again subverted all expectations by taking an active role in the course of the game.

They called 13 total penalties for 84 total yards, (Jags: six flags for 35 yards, Texans: seven flags for 48 yards).

And while the Texans didn’t have their best game of the year by any stretch, it was not helped at all by the playful antics of referee Clay Martin and his merry band of li’l stinkers calling questionable foul after questionable foul after questionable foul.

All I’m saying is in my next life I want to be an NFL referee for the job security.

In the meantime, the Texans lost 24-21. It was a heartbreaking loss borne on the shoulders of, among others, Matt Ammendola and his two missed field goals, Clay Martin, the Texans’ inability to run, Clay Martin, several extremely frustrating lapses in coverage, and Clay Martin.

And all that’s to say nothing of potentially losing Tytus Howard, again, for any length of time due to a knee injury he suffered in the first quarter of the game.

That said, the refs didn’t cost the Texans this game. They sure as hell didn’t do the Texans any favors, but the Texans shot their own feet plenty enough to torpedo the game on their own without any outward assistance from Clay Martin and company. Despite that, we did stand toe-to-toe with the Jags throughout the game, and the Jags are a good team. So while the result sucked and we’re just back outside the playoffs, looking in (a temporary setback), this team is going to be good, but sometimes the conditions that surround them (Clay Martin) are not going to be good.

Which means the Texans just have to get better.