Once again it was a bad football game played by two bad football teams.

The Jaguars’ 19-14 loss to the Raiders in Las Vegas dropped the Jaguars to 3-12 on the season. More on the impact of this record in a moment.

Both the Jaguars and Raiders are very flawed teams. The Jaguars arguably have a stronger roster, but during the game, both of Jacksonville’s starters, Walker Little and Anton Harrison, left the game and leveled the field somewhat.

One of the game’s storylines was the showcase of young pass catchers. For the Jaguars, it was Brian Thomas Jr. who passed for over 1,000 yards this season after a performance of nine catches, 131 yards and a touchdown.

On the Raiders’ side, it was former Georgia Bulldog tight end Brock Bowers who also passed for over 1,000 yards as he surpassed the 100 reception plateau. Both appear to be stars of the future, if not the present, for their respective teams.

Other Jaguars rookies also had notable performances. Defensive end and second-round pick Maason Smith, who has been a secondary for much of this season, enjoyed his best game with a sack and three tackles. Fifth-round cornerback Deantre Prince also saw his most extensive playing time.

The Jaguars lost their ninth game of the season by a touchdown or less. What differences were there this season? Sometimes it was the players’ attention to detail. On Sunday, the Jaguars committed eight penalties for 60 yards, including a hold call on Cole Van Lannen in the final minute that negated a fourth down conversion and led to the Jaguars turning the ball over on downs. Van Lannen was only in the game because of Harrison’s injury.

Coaching deserves blame too. The Jaguars did not force the ball on Thomas early in the game. It took more than the first half of the first quarter for the wide receiver to target the only significant threat.

Injuries? Secure. They were a problem for most of the season. The lack of depth to replace the starters falls on the general manager. In short, there’s enough blame to go around.

With the loss and the other results around the NFL, the Jaguars are now on track to retain the third pick in the draft. That’s significant because it’s likely the first two picks will be quarterbacks, Shedeur Sanders from Colorado and Cam Ward from Miami.

If the Jaguars end the season with the third pick, they should be able to select the best player on the board. Most draft analysts see Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the two-way player from Colorado, as the best player in the draft. The Jaguars could use a cornerback and/or a wide receiver.

With two games left against bad AFC South teams, the Jaguars could potentially win one or both games against the Titans and Colts. They might as well lose both.

The only certainty is that we are likely to see some more bad football in the final 120 minutes of play before the season thankfully comes to an end.