Tag: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

Listen: Talking new-look Jags with ‘Houston Sports Talk Podcast’

Anyone in the Houston market need to familiarize themselves with the new-look Jags? Well, we got you all covered as the “Houston Sports Talk” podcast had us on for a Week 1 preview.

The NFL season is here, and one of the teams who many will be intrigued by are the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are in their first year of a rebuild under new coach Urban Meyer. With that being the case, there will be a lot of unfamiliarity with this team for their division rivals in the Houston Texans, who will face the Jags Week 1 at NRG Stadium.

To help give the Houston fanbase a preview of the new-look, Meyer-led Jags, the Jags Wire joined the ‘Houston Sports Talk Podcast’ hosted by Robert Land. Among the topics discussed specifically were Meyer’s staff, Trevor Lawrence’s preseason, the Jags’ strengths and weaknesses, the confidence in the Jags, and much more.

To listen to the whole discussion, feel free to listen in the link below and also feel free to follow Land’s work of covering the Texans and Houston market through the links we placed in the previous paragraph.

Jags elevate DB Brandon Rusnak, WR Devin Smith from practice squad for Week 1 game vs. Texans

As expected, the Jags called on some help from their practice squad for Week 1’s game.

As they will do often throughout the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars elevated a pair of players from their practice squad heading into Week 1’s game against the Houston Texans. Those players were defensive back Brandon Rusnak and receiver Devin Smith.

The decision to call up Rusnak was the one that was the most expected as the Jags are down one cornerback in Tre Herndon. Herndon sprained his MCL in the first game of the preseason against the Cleveland Browns and was ruled out on Friday.

As for Smith, he’s a familiar player to Jags coach Urban Meyer, who also coached him in college at Ohio State. He’s entering his seventh season in the NFL and could help the Jags as a speed threat down the field as their sixth receiver and on special teams.

Kickoff for the Jags and Texans game will take place at 1 p.m. EST at NRG Stadium and all the information needed to tune in can be found here.

Behind Enemy Lines: Week 1 Q&A with Texans Wire

Just like the Jags, the Texans made a variety of changes this offseason and to help fans familiarize themselves with their new group, we went behind enemy lines with the Texans Wire.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans were two of the worst teams in football last season, and as a result, both kicked off a rebuild this offseason. Now, after major changes to their coaching staffs and behind center, both teams will open the season against each other.

To help our readers familiarize themselves with the new-look Texans, we sat down with Texans Wire’s Mark Lane for some insight. Here are some questions he was able to answer for us about new coach David Culley, former Jags receiver Chris Conley, and more.

Week 1 spread update: Jags now 3.5-point favorites vs. Texans

With less than 24 hours left before the game, the Jags remain the favorites for Sunday’s AFC South battle against the Texans, but this time by 3.5 points.

The Jacksonville Jaguars remain in unfamiliar territory as they are still the favorites to win Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.  This time by 3.5-points, per Tipico Sportsbook, which marks an increase of one point since our last update a few days ago.

The Jaguars finished 1-15 last season and were the underdogs in just about every game. The Jaguars are also a -180 favorite on the money line meaning that a $180 wager on the Jags will net a $100 winning if Jacksonville is victorious. The Texans are a -120 favorite to cover as a +3.5 underdog. This generally means that there is some faith that the Texans could keep the game close within three points.

One of the most notable revelations that may have influenced the line is the fact that Houston Texans All-Pro quarterback Deshaun Watson won’t start against the Jags. As many are aware, he is involved with a dispute with the team and also a lengthy legal situation that has brought his playing status for the season into uncertainty.

Watson has a 6-1 overall record against Jacksonville in his career and is undefeated in all of his starts against them. Veteran signal-caller Tyrod Taylor will get the start in Watson’s place and last faced the Jaguars as a member of the Buffalo Bills in the 2017 AFC Wild Card game. The Bills would lose that game by the score of 10-3.

As for the over/under, it’s now set at 46.5. That marks a rise of two points since our last update (44.5). When looking at the Jags’ and Texans’ last meeting, it was a 27-25 loss for Jacksonville and reached a total (52) that would qualify for the over based on the current figure.

5 Jaguars to watch in 2021 season opener vs. Texans

The Jags will begin their 2021 season in just over 24 hours against the Texans. Here are some players to watch in the process as the Jags will look to beat Houston for the first time in a while.

We’ve made it. As of tomorrow afternoon, Jacksonville Jaguars football is officially back as the team is currently in Houston awaiting their matchup with the Texans. And for the first time in what feels like a very long time, there seems as though there is room for genuine excitement around the facility.

With change comes opportunity, and there has been plenty of change in Jacksonville since the end of the 2020 season. There is a new regime, a new head coach in Urban Meyer, and at long last, there looks to be a franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence.

Here are five players to keep a close eye on during the Jaguars’ opener as they try and start things off 1-0.

Jags vs. Texans final Week injury report: Jordan Smith listed as a late addition with knee injury

The Jags added one player to their final injury report, putting them at a total of three players on the final listing.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ final injury report for Week 1 came back with one unexpected addition in rookie pass-rusher Jordan Smith. After not being on Wednesday’s and Thursday’s reports, Smith was listed on Friday’s as questionable with a knee injury.

Smith joined cornerbacks Tyson Campbell (calf) and Tre Herndon (knee) on the list. Jags coach Urban Meyer had been saying that Campbell would play all along, although his status came back as questionable. That said, if Smith can’t play he’d join Herndon, who was ruled OUT Friday, as two of several players who will be inactive Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Luckily for the Jags, they have six other exterior pass-rushers on the roster if Smith has to miss the game. Those players are Josh Allen, K’Lavon Chaisson, Jihad Ward, Dawuane Smoot, and Lerentee McCray. they also have Aaron Patrick available on the practice squad if needed.

There were four players to surface in the stars column for the Houston Texans, two of which were ruled out, and two of which were rule questionable. The two players ruled out were quarterback Deshaun Watson and defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. Linebacker Kevin Pierre-Lewis, and  Jonathan Greenard were the players ruled questionable by Houston.

Jags’ Tyson Campbell expected to be ruled questionable, but still will play vs. Texans

Jags second-round pick Tyson Campbell is expected to play in Houston although the team could rule him questionable on the injury report.

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t put out their final injury report for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, but Urban Meyer revealed that cornerback Tyson Campbell (elf injury) could come back as questionable once it’s revealed. Despite that, Meyer insisted that the rookie will play.

Campbell was a player the Jags drafted 33rd overall in April’s draft to add versatility to the secondary. During training camp, he spent a majority of his time at nickleback, so he could see action there as the starter Sunday. If not, it will likely be second-year player Chris Claybrooks seeing the snaps at the position.

When the Jags’ defense takes the field, they will see some new faces at some key positions for the team, but the most notable will be at quarterback. Instead of starting Deshaun Watson, they will be starting Tyrod Taylor at the position as the former first round pick awaits a trade and his sexual harassment/misconduct lawsuits to be resolved.

According to Pro Football Reference, Taylor is 1-0 against the Jags when starting in the regular season against them. That start came when he was with the Buffalo Bills in 2016. However, that team was more talented than the Texans’ offense with players like Sammy Watkins and LeSean McCoy aiding him. And while the Texans have respectable receivers in Brandin Cooks, Chris Conley, and Anthony Miller, the Texans may have some issues up front as right tackle Charlie Heck will miss the game. With that being the case, Campbell or Claybrooks could be in a manageable situation Sunday.

Jags only list 2 players on first injury report for Week 1 game vs. Texans

The Jags’ first injury report for the 2021 season is out and they only have two players listed on it.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first injury report for the 2021 season has been released, and it appears the team is relatively healthy. Only two players were listed on it, and they were cornerbacks Tre Herndon (didn’t practice) and Tyson Campbell (limited).

Herndon is still recovering from an MCL sprain he sustained during the preseason. Meanwhile, Campbell is recovering from a calf injury he sustained late last month.

Herndon has been week-to-week and sustained his injury in the Jags’ first preseason game last month against the Cleveland Browns. Earlier this week, Urban Meyer said the veteran wouldn’t be able to play in Week 1’s game against Houston but said Campbell would be ready.

With Herndon set to be ruled out on Friday, the Jags will be down to four corners on the active roster. Those players would be Campbell, Shaquill Griffin, CJ Henderson, and Chris Claybrooks. However, they have two cornerbacks on their practice squad in Brandon Rusnak and Lorenzo Burns who can be activated if the Jags desire (which is likely).

The Texans had five players on their injury report. the only one on the offensive end was Deshaun Watson, who isn’t injured but didn’t participate in practice as he awaits a potential trade and deals with a legal situation where he was accused of sexual misconduct and sexual assault by multiple women. Defensive back Lonnie Johnson sat out of practice with a thigh injury, while defensive lineman Whitney Mercilus (thigh) and Maliek Collins (knee) were limited, as was Kevin Pierre-Louis (thigh).

Jags currently 2.5-point favorites for season opener vs. Texans

The Jags have been the favorites in their Week 1 matchup vs. Houston for a while now and it remains that way as we are four days away from their battle at NRG Stadium.

As of now, many Jacksonville Jaguars fans are well informed that their team won’t be favored in many games in 2021, but their first one that counts isn’t among them. Per Tipico Sports, they are currently 2.5-point favorites against the Houston Texans, who are widely regarded as one of the worst two rosters in the NFL by many.

For their first game of the season, the Jags will be a -150 favorite on the money line. That means a $150 bet for the Jags to outright win the game would win a bettor $100 if the Jags can start their season off 1-0.
As for the over/under for the game, it’s currently set at 44.5. That’s a figure that would tie them for the third-lowest this week as the Broncos vs. Giants (41.5) and Dolphins vs. Patriots (43.5) games have lower totals.

Based on the total the Jags and Texans have for their game currently, it appears oddsmakers believe the game score will be around 24-21. In their last game, the Jags and Texans combined for 52 points as the Jags lost that game by a score of 27-25.

Kickoff for Sunday’s game will be at 1:00 p.m. EST on CBS.

4 storylines to watch in Jags’ season opener against Texans

Here are three things to keep an eye on when Jacksonville takes on Houston on Sunday.

Football season is back, and a new-look Jacksonville Jaguars team is ready to take the field when it counts for the first time in 2021. With a new coach in Urban Meyer, a new starting quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, and new contributors all over the field, this is a squad that is confident it can improve on its franchise-worst 1-15 finish a year ago.

Luckily for the group, it draws about as advantageous a Week 1 matchup as you can get in this league. The Houston Texans are projected to be the NFL’s worst team in 2021, assuming quarterback Deshaun Watson doesn’t play. But even if somehow he does, the projection won’t get much better.

This roster is largely devoid of star power, and the team didn’t have a first or second-round pick in this past draft to start building for the future. The Texans are a uniquely bad football team on both sides of the football. This will likely be one of the few games this year the Jaguars are favored in, at least unless they go on a run, and it presents a great opportunity to start the new era on a high note.

Here are four storylines to watch in that game.