Texans at Jaguars: Final Thoughts and Score Prediction
The Texans are in a peculiar spot as the end of the season is in sight
The Houston Texans must win today.
Suffering back-to-back losses to the dregs of the AFC South ahead of their bye week would make the break miserable for the Texans. It would throw into doubt their ability to win the AFC South, which they firmly lead right now.
It would be another sign a once-promising season is slipping away.
Not only do the Texans need to win, but they could use some confidence on offense heading into the bye week. The defense is championship caliber. The offense has been a disappointment this year.
C.J. Stroud has been almost as good as last year, but as he notes, he wants to be better not stay the same. The rushing attack is irregular but excellent when it is working. Houston hasn’t been able to score in the second half. The offensive line is bad.
A poor offensive performance, in a win or a loss, should spell the end for offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. The answers don’t seem to be there for Slowik. More than half of the season has been littered with second-half struggles and inconsistency. Nothing on the offense is easy.
Sure, the offensive line has been bad, but you can’t change them all out midseason. Slowik should be in the crosshairs with a poor offensive showing and head coach DeMeco Ryans would need to make a difficult decision.
Quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, wide receivers coach Ben McDaniels, and senior offensive assistant Bill Lazor are all options to replace a fired Slowik.
Johnson received offensive coordinator interviews from six teams last season before staying put in Houston. The Texans could give Johnson a four-game audition, with the potential for a playoff run, to see if the sought-after coaching prospect can turn around the stagnant Texans offense.
An impressive offensive showing could earn Slowik a stay of execution but he should be under a microscope should he maintain his position. It feels like a huge turnaround is needed for Slowik to be in charge of the team’s offense next year.
The downtrodden Jacksonville Jaguars have just two wins on the season. They can’t save their season but can send the Texans into a spiral. Houston must avoid this spiral and head into a bye week where they can re-focus and dial in for the regular season’s home stretch.
Score Prediction
The Texans will win 17-16. What faith should I have in an offensive explosion? The defense surely isn’t going to score in a third straight game so the offense pieces this one together and the defense forces enough field goals to get the win. This will not be enough to instill confidence in Bobby Slowik. Joe Mixon and Nico Collins will need to be excellent to get the Texans their 17. I trust the defense for the Texans enough to keep Jacksonville from upsetting the Texans.
You nailed it, Cody. You laid out the perfect case about Slowik without nay-say, just stating facts AND offered a viable solution. Perhaps one of the higher-ups is a (secret) subscriber? We can only hope…
3 of CJs top 6 games are against Jax. We will get back on track today. 27-17