Hey guys it’s Ari Alexander, and it’s been a tough week in Texans-land, with the team suffering their worst loss of the season. Nobody expected the Titans to come into NRG and beat Houston, much less put up 32 points and win despite giving the Texans multiple opportunities to claim the game. But, bad losses happen, life moves on, and the Texans are still in the same spot they were before the loss - 2 games up in the division with a virtual 3 game lead because of the tiebreaker vs. the Colts. So, let’s move on.
In case you missed it: Texans promote Myles Bryant to 53, place Teagan Quitoriano on injured reserve
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WHAT’S UP WITH THE JAGS
Well, I have the same thoughts on the Jaguars as I do on the Titans - they’re bad. However, this week I’ll be giving that opinion with some more caution as how it relates to the Texans given last week’s result. The good news for Jacksonville is they get their $200 million quarterback Trevor Lawrence back after missing last week with an injury. Lawrence gives the Jaguars a much higher ceiling than Mac Jones does, and was able to keep the Jaguars in the game vs. Houston in their early season loss.
They don’t have Christian Kirk, who has terrorized the Texans. They do have Gabe Davis, but he’s missed some time with injury, and they still have their main targets Brian Thomas Jr. and Trevor Etienne. However, they got destroyed by Detroit 52-6 last week, and have lost 4 in a row, albeit against 4 good teams. The Texans are only 3.5 point favorites in Vegas, because it’s in Jacksonville, and again - last week’s result.
WHAT’S UP WITH THE TEXANS
It’s go time. They’re 7-5 and after the bye week, the Texans face their toughest stretch of the year. In a 10-game stretch, Houston will have to face the Dolphins (good, not great team), the Chiefs (the best team) and the Ravens (probably the 2nd best team in the AFC). Being 7-6 and coming off back to back losses vs. 2-win teams is not how they want to exit the bye week with 3 lose-able games ahead.
Nico Collins has been good, but not his world-beater version before his hamstring injury. This is a spot where Collins could be just that. Last time out vs. Jacksonville, Collins put up 12 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown.
Joe Mixon is coming off one of his worst performances of the year, but didn’t get to face the Jaguars because he got hurt vs. Chicago. The Texans run game was ok, but not great with Cam Akers leading the charge last time out, but Mixon gives them another gear.
If the Texans can do the simple things - run the ball and protect C.J. Stroud, they should beat this 2-9 team.
WHAT’S NEXT
A second straight ‘regular’ game with a noon kickoff on Sunday after three straight primetime weeks. The Texans will be very irregular after the bye week and will need to “empty the tank,” as Bobby Slowik said to go into their rest week on a high note. Losing this game would be catastrophic, and yet - the AFC South has shown no desire to catch up to the Texans, so maybe not.
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