Tag: Jaguars vs. Texans

Around the NFL: Jaguars land new head coach for 2025 season

The Jacksonville Jaguars have found their next head coach in a man from the same state.

The Houston Texans will take on a new version of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025.

After an eventual 72 hours around the Sunshine State, resulting in the firing of a GM, internal betrayal by a beloved play-caller and multiple secret meetings, the Jaguars have found their replacement for Doug Pederson and hopeful long-term guru to fix franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence in 2025 and beyond.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen informed the team Thursday night that he was leaving for the AFC South franchise after initially turning down the deal on Tuesday afternoon.

Coen, who guided Baker Mayfield to a career-best 41 touchdown passes in 2024, was the favorite to land the job after Detriot Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson took the Chicago Bears.

After further consideration, Coen took his name out of the running and planned on signing an extension to make him the league’s highest-paid offensive coordinator for Year 2 with Mayfield.

This is where things get interesting. Three weeks after firing Pederson and retaining general manager Trent Baalke, Jacksonville made a change. Baalke hit the exit since nobody wanted the job with him calling the shots and owner Shad Khan reignited conversations with Coen about the opening.

Coen secretly traveled to Jacksonville on Thursday afternoon and met with Khan and interim general manager Ethan Waugh. According to reports, one of the top-selling points for the 39-year-old offensive mind was that he’d have the ability to influence the hire of the next GM.

On Thursday, after speaking with head coach Todd Bowles, Coen told representatives in Tampa he’s be leaving for north Florida in the morning.
Coen was one of 10 candidates the Jaguars interviewed after a 4-13 season. He will be the eighth head coach in franchise history and the third offensive coach in four hires.

The Jaguars were looking to fix Lawrence after a woeful 2024 season. The good news is there are pieces for the team to strike fast this fall. Breakout wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. headlines a weapon’s chest that features tight end Evan Engram, receiver Christian Kirk and running backs Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne are all under contract for another year.

The Jaguars ranked 31st in average yards before first contact per rush (2.15) and 30th in total rushing yards before first contact (1,867) from 2023-24, according to ESPN research.

Houston, which claimed its second straight AFC South title, continues to handle business against the Jaguars, dating back to 2018. In six seasons, the Texans are 11-2 when taking on the Cats of Duval County.

Coen looks to bring a winning culture to EverBank Stadium next fall. It’ll be an uphill battle since the Jaguars have posted 10 double-digit losing seasons in the 13 years under Khan.

Former Super Bowl champion furious at NFL’s deciscion to suspend Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair

Former Super Bowl champion Logan Ryan is not a fan of the NFL’s suspension length on Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair.

Former New England Patriots star and two-time Super Bowl champion Logan Ryan knows that the game of football can have some outlandish hits.

He also knows it’s a part of the game, which is why he’s not a fan of the recent suspension against Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. 

Ryan said on CBS Sports that the three-game suspension on Al-Shaair for the hit against Trevor Lawrence was “way too harsh,” especially given the ramifications of the bang-bang play.

“Taking a guy out three games? His job is to tackle people,” Ryan told Brandon Baylor. “Now that tackle was egregious. That tackle was unsportsmanlike. That tackle should have gotten him kicked out the game, which it did. That tackle will get him fined, which it did. But, it’s going to take three game checks?

“I understand everything that happened after the hit. I would like to see one game. I think that’s enough of a lesson; it’s enough of a fine taught. He’s not going out there. He doesn’t have a history of this.”

Al-Shaair, who plans to appeal the suspension, was notified by the NFL Tuesday that he would be out due to “consistent behavior” and as a “repeated offender” for his tackling style.

“Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL,” Jon Runyon, the NFL’s vice president of football operations and former Houston Oilers player, wrote. “Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules puts the health and safety of both you and your opponents in jeopardy and will not be tolerated.”

Ryan, who spent years on the same sidelines with seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, can understand why Al-Shaair would be fined, suspended and even tussled up by the Jaguars’ players trying to defend their quarterback.
He can’t understand how the NFL can make a call to suspend a player doing his job.

“The fine is way too harsh,” Ryan said. “Now, maybe it’s set that way to appeal so it goes down to two games or one, but I think one game would have been sufficed.”

Dalton Schultz injury update: Texans TE returns, scores TD vs. Jaguars

Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz left during the third quarter of Week 13’s game with a shoulder injury.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

The Houston Texans are looking to secure their seventh consecutive road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars entering the fourth quarter, but the offense could be missing a signature player.

Tight end Dalton Schultz left during the third quarter with a shoulder injury and could be out for the rest of the game, depending on further evaluation. The Texans need a win to secure a 4-1 record in conference play before next week’s bye.

Here’s the latest on the Texans’ veteran tight end.

Dalton Schultz injury update

During the third quarter, Schultz suffered a shoulder injury when he hurdled a defender trying to pick up a first down. He remained down on the ground for a moment and was slow to get up before heading to the sidelines.

The Texans listed the tight end as questionable to return, though he managed to be healthy enough to come back in for the fourth quarter. He hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud for his first scoring opportunity of the regular season.

Losing him for an extensive period of time would have been a concern because the Texans are short of tight ends.

Following the scoring drive, Schultz has caught five passes for 61 yards.

Texans TE depth chart

If Schultz were to miss the rest of the game, Houston would be limited to rookie Cade Stover and former Alabama star Irv Smith Jr. Stover has mostly seen action as the team’s H-back or in 12-personnel this season after being drafted out of Ohio State last April.

Jaguars vs. Texans injury report: Latest updates, news for Friday

Here’s the injury report from Friday’s practice as the Houston Texans prepare to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Here are the full injury reports from Thursday’s practice for the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of their Week 13 matchup at EverBank Stadium:

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)

OUT

  • LB Yasir Abdullah (hamstring)

QUESTIONABLE

  • QB Trevor Lawrence (non-throwing shoulder)

ACTIVE

  • CB Tyson Campbell (shoulder)
  • RB Tank Bigsby (ankle)
  • OL Brandon Scherff (knee/shoulder)

Note: Campbell was a limited participant in Friday’s practice. 

Houston Texans (7-5)

OUT

  • DT Folorunso Fatukasi (foot)
  • DB Jalen Pitre (shoulder)

QUESTIONABLE

  • WR Xavier Hutchinson (shoulder)

ACTIVE

  • OT Blake Fisher (concussion)
  • DB Jimmie Ward (knee)
  • LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee)
  • DE Will Anderson Jr. (ankle)
  • DE Denico Autry (knee/oblique)

* Bold indicates an upgrade from Thursday’s practice.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT.

Could Texans end Jaguars season with a win in Week 13?

If the Houston Texans win, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ season could be over before Week 14.

The Houston Texans can’t clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. 

They can, however, end all talks of an improbable comeback out in Duval County for 2024. 

Sitting at 2-9 and in last place in the AFC South, a loss to the Texans (7-5) on Sunday would knock Jacksonville out of its divisional running, per NFLplayoffscenarios.com.

Houston must win to knock Jacksonville out of the divisional race, but more chaos must occur for the Jaguars to be completely eliminated from the postseason conversation altogether.

The favorites to land the No. 1 overall pick, Jacksonville would be eliminated from postseason contention by losing paired with the Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) and Denver Broncos (7-5), both winning or tying their Week 13 matchups, against the Atlanta Falcons (6-5) and Cleveland Browns (3-8), respectively.

The Texans would improve to 4-1 in the AFC South with a victory over the Jaguars and could clinch a playoff berth in several weeks following a Week 14 bye. 

Houston is looking to return to its winning ways after falling short of a comeback against the Tennessee Titans in Week 12. Will Levis tossed two touchdown passes, including a game-winning 70-yard score to tight end Chig Okonkwo in the fourth quarter. 

Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT on FOX. 

All 32 NFL teams (including the Texans) ranked by FPI ratings

Here’s how the Texans rank in FPI rankings among all 32 other NFL teams entering Week 13’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Twelve games into the season, the Houston Texans (7-5) are trending down. Entering Week 13, the AFC South favorites have a 1.2 Football Power Index (FPI) rating from ESPN, which ranks 11th in the NFL.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9), who play host to Houston this weekend at EverBank Stadium,  are ranked 29th with a -5.9 FPI rating.

FPI is “a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season,” according to ESPN.com. “FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”

So with that background in mind, here’s a look at how the league’s 32 teams stack up based on FPI going into Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season.

  1. Detroit Lions (10-1): 9.0
  2. Baltimore Ravens (8-4): 6.6
  3. Buffalo Bills (9-2): 6.1
  4. Green Bay Packers (8-3): 5.7
  5. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2): 4.8
  6. Kansas City Chiefs (910-1): 4.6
  7. San Francisco 49ers (5-6): 3.0
  8. Minnesota Vikings (9-2): 2.8
  9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6): 2.2
  10. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3): 1.5
  11. Houston Texans (7-5): 1.2
  12. Arizona Cardinals (6-5): 0.9
  13. Washington Commanders (7-5): 0.5
  14. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3): 1.1
  15. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7): 0.4
  16. Miami Dolphins (5-6): 0.0
  17. Los Angeles Rams (5-6): -0.2
  18. New York Jets (3-8): -0.3
  19. Atlanta Falcons (6-5): -0.4
  20. New Orleans Saints (4-7): -0.6
  21. Cleveland Browns (3-8): -0.9
  22. Seattle Seahawks (6-5): -1.0
  23. Denver Broncos (7-5): -1.1
  24. Chicago Bears (4-7): -1.3
  25. Indianapolis Colts (5-7): -2.5
  26. Tennesee Titans (3-8): -4.9
  27. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9): -5.0
  28. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9): -5.9
  29. Carolina Panthers (3-8): -6.6
  30. New England Patriots (3-9): -7.7
  31. Dallas Cowboys (4-7): -8.2
  32. New York Giants (2-9): -8.5

Houston, losers in three of the last four matchups,  will aim to improve its rating when they take on the Jaguars before the bye week in Week 13. Houston’s ranking dropped by one from last week following a 32-27 loss against the Tennessee Titans.