JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Where have you gone, "Sacksonville"?

Where is the defense that dominated the NFL in 2017? What happened to the unit that finished second in turnovers (33) and sacks (55) and led the league in pass defense?

It's still around, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive players say. And they'll prove that once they solve some of the glaring issues they've had the past two weeks.

"That's the main thing that I can't stress enough," safety Tashaun Gipson said. "A hundred percent I think that every guy in this room still feels like we know we're still the best defense in the National Football League.

"That confidence will never go nowhere. We just know there's little things that we've got to fix. They're correctable mistakes."

Mistakes like players freelancing instead of playing their assignments. Or blowing a coverage because they're unsure what they're supposed to do in certain situations. Or trying to make the big play instead of just doing their job.

That's all happened in the past two weeks in road losses against Kansas City and Dallas, and the results have been 63 points, 802 yards and 49 first downs allowed. The unit that was supposed to be the foundation for a Super Bowl run has looked more like Sad-Sacksonville.

Defensive coordinator Todd Wash says he deserves a lot of the blame for that, because he failed to check some of the above issues.

"I think I overlooked a lot of things," Wash said. "We've got to get back to the base fundamentals of things. Stop trying to be so damn cute in what we're trying to do and just go out and execute and play hard.

"We've got to get back to doing the little things correctly. ... line up where you're supposed to be. Don't be guessing and trying to make plays. I've kind of let some of that stuff slide and that's my fault, and we're cleaning it up."

Maybe playing Houston (3-3) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) will give the defense a chance to regain its identity, because the Texans have given up the second-most sacks in the NFL this season (25). Sacksonville was born against the Texans in the 2017 season opener. The Jaguars recorded a franchise-record 10 sacks in a 29-7 victory in Houston, including a single-game franchise record four by defensive lineman Calais Campbell in his first game with the team.

The Jaguars also had 10 sacks against Indianapolis later in the season. They ended the season with a franchise-record 21 interceptions, including five against Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. The Jaguars' 55 sacks were two shy of the franchise record, and their seven defensive touchdowns were the most in the NFL.

Campbell ended up with a franchise-record 14.5 sacks. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue had 12 and defensive tackle Malik Jackson had eight. They, along with linebacker Telvin Smith and cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey (four interceptions) and A.J. Bouye (six interceptions), were named to the Pro Bowl. Campbell and Ramsey also were first-team All-Pros, and Smith and Bouye were second-team All-Pros.

The Jaguars still rank in the top 10 in four of the top five defensive categories this season: total defense (second), pass defense (first), third-down defense (fifth) and scoring defense (ninth). However, they rank 22nd against the rush and they've forced only five turnovers (they had 15 after six games last year) and have 14 sacks.

It is unrealistic to expect the same kind of numbers from 2017, and some of the stats are good, but over the past two weeks, they haven't played like the elite defense they said they want to be. Jackson said the players need to make sure they're not living off last year's success.

"We haven't lost our confidence," he said. "I think it's a reality check. We understand who we are. We know who we are. I think a lot of us are leaning on the accolades. We want to be Pro Bowlers, we have to be All-Pros, we want to be this. But we have to understand that we just have to play like we did last year, just stay carefree, and the less you care about your accolades off the field, the more we'll win as a team.

"And that's full up on me, too, because you reach for something like [the] Pro Bowl for so long and you get it and it's like, 'Now I've got to continue to be on that high level,' but that'll mess you up if you don't do it the right way or worry about the right things."

Maybe the defense's recent struggles will be the catalyst for the unit to get back the attitude it had last season when the players were hungry and trying to prove themselves -- and what earned them the name Sacksonville.

"The attitude that we're going to rough quarterbacks up and make them earn it, without a doubt [it's still there]," Campbell said. "Yes. Yes, we are [still Sacksonville]. We need to earn it each and every week, because at the end of the day, it's 'what have you done for me lately,' and lately we haven't been what we want to be.

"Yes, we are [still Sacksonville], but we've got to step our game up."