Still, people still believe that the Houston Texans‘ defense can win football games by itself. That’s going to have to be the case on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
The Texans will battle the Jacksonville Jaguars to close out a three-game homestand in Week 11, where a loss could be the nail in the coffin on what feels like a lost season up to this point. As for a win? It saves the season for another week before a trip to Nashville appears on the docket.Ian Eagle will be on the call for CBS as the play-by-play announcer, while former Texans defensive end and three-time Defensive Player of the Year honoree J.J. Watt will serve as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will conduct interviews on the sidelines.
The Texans are coming off a struggling 18-15 loss against the Denver Broncos, where Will Lutz’s game-winning 23-yard kick sealed the comeback for the AFC West franchise. C.J. Stroud left the game with a concussion in the second quarter after trying to pick up a first down and didn’t return. Meanwhile, Bo Nix never found an offensive spark, but his 26-yard scramble in the closing minutes was enough to keep the drive alive and send Denver out of Houston with a three-point win and 7-2 record.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars are coming off a 30-29 overtime victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. Trevor Lawrence once again struggled to find any offensive success, but his late 1-yard touchdown run with just over four minutes remaining in overtime was enough to give Jacksonville a 1-point win. Geno Smith tried to seal a win on a two-point conversion with 16 seconds remaining, but the pass was short.
With Stroud out, Davis Mills will get the call to lead Houston to its fourth win and perhaps the most important of the regular season. Mills might be a valued backup, but he only threw for 137 yards and never found a pathway into the end zone. Meanwhile, the Jaguars bolstered their passing game on Tuesday’s deadline, shipping off two Day 3 picks to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for slot wideout Jakobi Meyers.
Here’s how the Texans and Jaguars stack up statistically ahead of Sunday’s matchup at NRG Stadium.
Stats courtesy of Team Rankings, The Football Database and Stat Muse
Scoring Offense
Texans: 21.0 PPG (24th)
Jaguars: 22.0 PPG (21st)
Passing Offense
Texans: 212.3 YPG (18th)
Jaguars: 215.3 YPG (16th)
Rushing Offense
Texans: 108.9 YPG (17th)
Jaguars: 123.6 YPG (11th)
Total Offense
Texans: 321.1 YPG (19th)
Broncos: 338.9 YPG (14th)
Penalties
Texans: 66.0 penalty YPG (24th)
Broncos: 61.1 penalty YPG (19th)
Sacks Allowed
Texans: 18 (15th)
Jaguars: 22 (22nd)
Turnover Margin
Texans: +6 (6th)
Jaguars: +8 (3rd)
Scoring Defense
Texans: 15.1 PPG (1st)
Jaguars: 23.0 PPG (18th)
Passing Defense
Texans: 177.5 YPG (4th)
Jaguars: 249.3 YPG (27th)
Rushing Defense
Texans: 89.9 YPG (6th)
Jaguars: 86.9 YPG (3rd)
Total Defense
Texans: 267.4 YPG (1st)
Jaguars: 336.1 YPG (22nd)
Sacks
Texans: 16 (19th)
Jaguars: 10 (32nd)