Week 10 preview

The Jaguars will face the Texans in a road rematch in week 10. Jacksonville defeated the Texans in an ugly 17-10 win at home in week 3 and will look to eliminate the Texans from the playoff picture in week 10. Trevor Lawrence has struggled against the Texans throughout his career, but he will face a 3-5 Texans team without quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Key stats

Houston's offense has struggled all year, ranking 24th in points, 17th in passing yards and 21st in rushing yards. With no C.J. Stroud, this will be a tough climb.

The good news for the Texans is that they are facing a defense that has also struggled as of late. The Jaguars defense ranks 17th in points allowed, 27th in passing yards allowed, and last in sacks. They do, however, have a great rushing defense, ranking 6th in yards per attempt allowed and 3rd in rushing yards allowed.

With such a lackluster rushing attack as it is, the Texans best chance of winning will come through the air, getting wide receiver Nico Collins the ball consistently. Collins had 8 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown in week 3 and will likely be a big part of the offensive game plan.

The biggest reason for the Jaguars winning in week 3 was turnovers, forcing a fumble and 2 interceptions, one of them sealing the game. This has not been the case in recent weeks, forcing just 1 turnover in the last 3 games, with Jourdan Lewis and Travis Hunter not playing in Sunday's game. Against such a lackluster offense, a beat-up Jaguars defense will have a chance to make amends for their recent struggles.

On the Jaguars offensive side of things, it has also been a struggle. The offense ranks 21st in points per game, 16th in passing yards, and 11th in rushing yards and yards per attempt. Trevor Lawrence in particular has been up and down for much of the season. In week 9, he threw an awful interception but played exceptionally after. It is this inconsistency that has hindered the offense during the season.

Lawrence had arguably his worst game of the season against Houston in week 3, going 20/40 for 222 yards and 1 interception. His saving grace was the game-winning drive where he hit Brian Thomas Jr. on a 46-yard pass to set up the game-winning touchdown. This time around, there will be some changes to the offense. Brian Thomas Jr., Ezra Cleveland, and Hunter Long have all been ruled out, and newly acquired wide receiver Jakobi Meyers will make his Jaguars debut.

With such a thin receiving core against a great defense, it will be a tough challenge for the Jaguars offense. The Texans starting a backup quarterback will help with this problem. If the offense can play smart, turnover-free football, a 17-20 point offensive outing may be enough to get the win.

Conclusion

This is a massive opportunity to not only eliminate the Texans playoff hopes but also put themselves in the playoff and division picture behind the Indianapolis Colts. This will not be a pretty game, but as we have seen this year, the Jaguars are very capable of pulling out an ugly win. With playoff implications on the line against a divisional opponent, this will be a big test for the Jaguars.

My Other Work