JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars have a chance to answer the questions.
They’ve heard them all, including the take that they aren’t cut out for beating the elites of the NFL. The Texans certainly aren’t elite yet, but they’re riding a hot streak and appear to be a contender well into the future, thanks to a rapid rebuilding process.
Recommended Videos
The Jaguars have a chance to say something about that.
Jacksonville (7-3) visits Houston on Sunday at 1 p.m. in a game that has significant implications for both teams. The Texans (6-4) have done an excellent job of getting remarkably better in a short window of time, the reflection of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud’s hot start. Stroud is on pace for not only rookie of the year honors, but potentially a playoff berth, too. A win by Houston on Sunday accelerates those expectations.
While the headlining matchup of Trevor Lawrence and Stroud was projected to be one of the division’s best head-to-head matchups in the future, it has already become the AFC South’s best. The national narrative may have changed, but Lawrence said that doesn’t change anything for him now.
“Not really, I think there’s plenty of motivation for this game anyways,” Lawrence said. “You look at what the Texans have done this year and being in our division, we’re getting down here at the end of the season and all of these games matter. They all matter when you go back and look at your season, every game has implications, but especially when you get to this point.”
Can the Jaguars slow down Stroud and beat back Houston’s momentum? If Jacksonville can play like it did last week, there’s no doubt it can win. But are the Texans this season’s version of the 2022 Jaguars, who capped a worst-to-first rise by winning the AFC South last season?
Houston won three games last year and picked No. 2 in the draft. The Texans figured to be in a multiyear rebuilding process under first-year coach DeMeco Ryans, but that has gone out the window.
They’re after a playoff spot right now.
The Texans have doubled their win total and can take the lead in the AFC South with a season sweep of the Jaguars. Houston demolished Jacksonville 37-17 in Week 3 and would take over the top spot in the division with a win on Sunday. The national hype has swirled around Houston’s rise and Stroud’s record-setting start, and that’s been a juicy storyline. But the Jaguars are in the hunt for back-to-back AFC South titles and in the conversation as the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC.
“It’s not the end of the year, but it’s big because it’s the next game. It’s big because it’s the AFC South. It’s big because both teams are playing well. It’s been a while since both teams have been in this situation together,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said.
“I think all of that plays into how big this type of football game is. You still have to approach it, quite honestly, no different than last week or the week before. You have to go play and calm your mind and execute your gameplan.”
The performance in Week 3 was an implosion for the Jaguars. The defense couldn’t stop Stroud and the offense was awful. Since then, Jacksonville has won six of seven games and seemed to finally click on the offensive side of the ball in a Week 11 game against Tennessee. Lawrence earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after accounting for four touchdowns in the 34-14 romp. Jacksonville needed that type of game badly.
Lawrence entered that game with more turnovers (10) than touchdowns (nine). And it was fair to ask if the Jaguars had already peaked last year on offense because little had gone according to plan on that side of the ball in 2023. But the offensive line had its best game of the season and Lawrence looked more like the player from the second half last season than the one from the first half this year.
Is that win over the Titans the start of something special? Lawrence said that showing by the team gives it confidence moving forward.
“You look at where we’re at, you said we’re getting into the back half of the season and that was probably the most complete game we’ve played as an offense,” he said. “To take that step and to be playing some of our better football as the season is getting towards the back half, I think that’s a positive and you use that.”