Texans Have Familiar Foe to Get Season's First Win
The success against the division must continue
The Houston Texans take their 0-2 record to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars in the first of their six AFC South division games. The Texans have lost just once in their four matchups with the Jaguars under DeMeco Ryans.
This is new Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen’s first game against the Texans. Coen was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022, while Ryans was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.
One Player to Watch
Christian Kirk is the one player to watch. The Texans will get their veteran slot receiver on the field for the first time this season. He was excellent in the preseason. His return should allow the Texans to reinstate some of the quick passing game that was present in the preseason. Kirk said this week he felt a little extra in this matchup after Jacksonville traded him away in the offseason.
One Matchup to Watch
The quick throwing of Trevor Lawrence against the defensive alignments of the Texans is the matchup to watch. Lawrence has been one of the quickest decision makers at the quarterback spot. He has no problem hitting his first read and living to fight another down.
How the Texans play him will be interesting. If they choose to use their cornerbacks close to the line of scrimmage, it will be harder for Lawrence to get rid of the ball quickly. It also opens up opportunities for big plays for the Jaguars. If the Texans play off the pass catchers, they can rally to the football. If they tackle well, not guaranteed after last week, Lawrence will take the easy completions. He isn’t usually an aggressive thrower.
Lawrence’s quick decisions also help mitigate the might pass rush of the Texans.
One Stat to Watch
Trevor Lawrence has struggled to complete passes to his two best wideouts. Scott Barrett is one of the best fantasy football minds in the business. He noticed the discrepancy.
Lawrence can’t be allowed to get Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr. going in this game. The Texans also can’t let the other pass catchers defeat them either. After two weeks of struggles to get on the same page with the top wideouts, there has to be some pressure to force the ball. The Texans should have a chance at their first interception of the season if Lawrence isn’t careful.
Score Prediction
The Houston Texans win 30-14. That’s right. The Texans will score more in this game than they have all season combined. I like some of the Jacksonville defense, but I hope to see the offense from the preseason make C.J. Stroud comfortable at quarterback. Stroud finds Kirk for a score, hits each rookie wideout for a nice gain, and also finds Woody Marks out of the backfield. The defense pummels the Jaguars on the way to the first win of the season.