The Texans (2-1) are back at home for a Week 4 matchup with the Jaguars (0-3). Both squads are smarting from road losses last week, and Houston leads the series all-time, 29-15. Here are five things to watch when they kick off at noon CT inside NRG Stadium.
1) Cleanliness – The Texans shot themselves in the foot during last week's loss at Minnesota in large part to penalties and turnovers. After the first two weeks of the season, Houston was plus-2 in turnover differential, and had won the turnover battle in each of the two wins. Last week, though, two interceptions helped swing the game in favor of the Vikings.
On the flip side, the Jaguars still haven't recorded a takeaway this year.
But the Texans were also penalized 11 times for 88 yards last Sunday, as so many of those flags helped torpedo would-be Houston first downs, and/or keep Minnesota drives alive. Head Coach DeMeco Ryans and company harped on fixing the pre-snap flags this week.
"We addressed it and we'll see on Sunday that it's been addressed and we'll handle it really well," Ryans said. "Everybody's dialed in. Everybody understands who we are, what we're about and what it's going to take for us to get back on track and that's what we're focused on."
2) Bounce back Stroud – Tough days at the office have been few and far between for quarterback C.J. Stroud in his NFL career. But in the six starts of his following a Texans loss in 2023, Stroud and the Texans were excellent.
According to NFL Research, Houston won five of those contest, Stroud averaged 303.3 passing yards in those games, and he threw 13 touchdown passes and one interception. His passer rating was 112.2.
Naturally, Stroud has flushed the Vikings defeat and is intent on beating the Jaguars.
"It is all about moving on and getting the next win, so I am actually kind of tired talking about the game to be honest, it is what it is," Stroud said. "They got us, they kicked our butts, kudos to those guys, it is Week Four now we are going to move on we are going to play against the Jaguars who are a good team and focus on that."
The Jaguars, through three games, are 29th in the NFL in scoring defense, 30th in passing yards allowed, and last in the NFL with zero takeaways.
3) Trench life – On top of several pre-snap penalties last week, the pass protection saw Stroud get sacked four times against Minnesota, and hit a total of eight times. Houston also wasn't able to run the ball as much as they wanted to, but when they did, the Texans averaged 2.7 yards per carry. If you take out three runs by Stroud for 12 yards, the Houston running backs gained 26 yards on 11 carries. Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik and the Texans want the offensive line to play more like it did in Week 1 versus the Colts, when they ran 40 times for more than 200 yards.
"We put it on tape against Indianapolis," Slowik said. "We put it on tape in training camp. We can go do it. We can get it done. We can get it done at a very, very high level when we do it right and when we're committed to what we're doing. We just need to maintain consistency."
Jacksonville defensive end Travon Walker leads the Jaguars with two sacks this season. But as a team, they're tied for the 6th-fewest in the NFL with just five total.
4) Speaking of a pass rush – The Texans defense, meanwhile, has gotten after the quarterback at a healthy rate. Defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson, Jr. are atop the league in quarterback pressures with 20 and 19, respectively. Hunter has 1.5 sacks, Anderson has 2.5, and three other Texans have two apiece, including tackle Tim Settle. He explained the impact Hunter and Anderson have on the rest of the defensive front.
"They're guys who can single-handedly stop a game," Settle said. "Single-handedly wreck a game. Key players that teams have to worry about and have to focus on. They get a lot of attention so inside, we got to eat up."
The pass rush of the Texans produces a dilemma for Jacksonville Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor.
"You have to commit as many resources as possible to keep edges clean," Taylor said. "When a team like this has both edges as dangerous threats in terms of pass rush potential, you have to pick your spots. Basically, when are you going to leave somebody 1-on-1? How are you going to provide help? What are you going to look like for certain aspects of things?"
5) Trifle with Trevor – Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was last under center for a Jaguars win in November of 2023 when he and Jacksonville were victorious in Houston. In the more than 300 days since, he and the Jaguars have lost all eight of his starts, and his passer rating has been 79.7.
Despite that, the Texans respect what Lawrence can do. He's led the Jaguars to victory over the Texans in each of the last two matchups at NRG Stadium.
"They get the ball out very quick," Ryans said. "Trevor has done that his entire career, finding a way to get that ball out quickly. We have to match up and we have to win our matchups and that's what it's going to be vice versa on the other side for them."
He's been sacked a dozen times already in 2024.
