Two hundred seventy-two days. That’s how long the Houston Texans went between victories, a stretch that includes one postseason loss, and then a long, hot summer, followed by three preseason losses, and then four regular season losses. As always, the Tennessee Titans were the perfect elixir for nine months without a win, as the Texans moved to 1-4 on the season.
The Texans left on Thursday afternoon for their business trip to London, where the goal will be to positively build off of that win over the 0-5 Titans. The assignment in London is far more difficult than last week’s assignment in Nashville. The Jacksonville Jaguars are a very good football team. In fact, it’s hard to find a set of NFL power rankings that doesn’t have them among the five best teams in football.
After a miraculous thievery of a win over Philadelphia in Week 5, where the Jaguars received a kickoff with eight seconds to go in the game, and somehow turned that into a successful try at a game winning field goal, the Jags sit at 4-1 on the season. In other words, we’re just five weeks into the season, and the Texans already need help to catch the division leaders.
Make no mistake, if the Texans lose this game on Sunday, the season is on serious life support. The Texans would have to sweep the board the rest of the way, 11 games in all, just to match last season’s 12-5 record, which by the way, was still only good enough for a wild card spot.
Let’s dig into this matchup, which represents just the second time that the Texans have traveled to London for a game in team history (2019 was the other time, a 26-3 win over the Jags). Here are four things to watch for:
4. Marvin Harrison, Jr. debuts
Harrison got right to work this week, practicing like he’d been with the team all season. DeMeco Ryans confirmed on Wednesday that Harrison will play on Sunday. The oddsmakers have set his receiving totals for his debut at a modest 3.5 catches and 29.5 yards, although, considering Harrison’s entire body of work this season consists of five catches for 85 yards, maybe those betting totals are aggressive. This we know — Harrison has yet to play an NFL snap alongside a receiver as great as Nico Collins and receive passes from a quarterback as polished as C.J. Stroud. I’d take the over on the yards, for sure.
3. Will Anderson is likely to murder a man
The Jaguars’ offensive line has not been great this season, and now their starting left tackle, Anton Harrison, went in for knee surgery this week. Will Anderson leads the NFL with 7.5 sacks, including three to close out the fourth quarter against the Titans last Sunday. This is the biggest matchup advantage for the Texans, Anderson and Danielle Hunter tormenting Trevor Lawrence by plowing through the Jags’ offensive line. If they can’t get after Lawrence, which includes keeping him in the pocket and not allowing him to scramble, then it’s going to be a long day for the Texans.
2. Jaguars brick wall
On the flip side, Jags defense versus Texans offense, the Jaguars have the best run defense in the NFL. The Texans have not been able to run the football at even a remedial level all season. When a running back averages four yards per carry, like Woody Marks did, on 15 carries, against Tennessee, it feels like cause for a national holiday. I would expect the Texans to struggle running the football again on Sunday, and if that’s the case, OC Nick Caley can’t wait till the second quarter to begin leaning on the right arm of C.J. Stroud as the focal point of the offense. Stroud is hot. Ride him.
1. London calling
As mentioned earlier, the Texans are headed to London for just the second time in franchise history. The only player still remaining from the team’s first trip to London, in 2019, is kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn. The Jaguars travel to London for at least one, if not two games every season. This week, they’ve been in London all week after playing their Week 5 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles at Tottenham Stadium. Conversely, the Texans are taking the eight-hour flight and enduring the six-hour time difference through the night on Thursday. Their Thursday night sleep will essentially be on a “red eye” plane trip. They’ll roll right into their Friday activities when they land in London on Friday morning. Demeco Ryans is not making any excuses, but this might be one of the biggest advantages for the Jaguars, and it’s a tough one to bake into a point spread.
SPREAD: Texans +2.5
PREDICTION: Jaguars 24, Texans 21
SEAN SEASON RECORD: 2-3 SU, 1-4 ATS
