By MARK LONG

JACKSONVILLE — The Jacksonville Jaguars were a mess defensively last season.

Overweight , out of position and often the main reason for losses, the Jaguars lacked an identity on that side of the ball. The unit ranked near the bottom of the league in every statistical category and was among the worst in franchise history under first-time coordinator Ryan Nielsen.

And when then-coach Doug Pederson told owner Shad Khan he was planning no offseason staff changes, it was all Khan needed to hear to seal Pederson’s fate.

The defense has been the biggest beneficiary of Khan’s house-cleaning — and it showed in a 17-10 victory over rival Houston on Sunday.

The Jaguars (2-1) notched three takeaways in the fourth quarter, giving them nine in three games and matching their total

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