Houston Texans v. Jacksonville Jaguars: A showdown of defensive prowess
By T.A. Mock
The Houston Texans are set to face off against the Jaguars for the first time this season. The winner will be decided by the battle of elite defenses.
This Sunday, the Houston Texans will travel to Jacksonville for their third division matchup of the season. It’s the first time these two will have faced off this season. You can catch the game on CBS at 12:00 pm central time. You can also tune in on SportsTalk 610 radio and 100.3 The Bull.
Historically, the Texans have fared pretty well against the Jaguars with 19 wins in 32 meetings. The Texans have won six of the last ten meetings, those six victories are actually sandwiched between two pairs of losses in 2013 and 2017.
Currently, the Texans and Jaguars both boast 3-3 records and are in a three-way tie with the Titans for first place in the division. The Texans are fresh off a great defensive game against the Bills that was sealed on an interception returned for a touchdown. The Jaguars, on the other hand, are reeling from an absolute thrashing from the Cowboys.
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In the Jaguars three losses, they’ve been gashed by a strong rushing attack while their pass defense has rarely bent, let alone been broken. Their offense has been up and down but more down than up lately with Leonard Fournette now out for three straight weeks. They traded for Carlos Hyde to try to fix this probably but he probably won’t see the field this week. Regardless, the past few weeks, the Jaguars have definitely been trending down.
The Houston Texans, on the other hand, seem to be trending up. They have won three in a row now with all six games being decided by seven points or less. The defense started out poorly but has improved every week so far. The offense has looked really good recently as well, that is until they get inside the ten yard line.
But, the thing that stands out for both of these teams right now is defense, regardless of which direction either is trending. With both offenses struggling to put the ball in the end zone, this game will be decided by defense. So, let’s break it down.