Texans QB C.J. Stroud gives praise to winless Jaguars team

Despite being 0-3, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud isn’t taking the Jacksonville Jaguars lightly this week.

The Jacksonville Jaguars head to Houston winless after an embarrassing 47-10 loss against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud isn’t taking the AFC South foe lightly headed into Week 4.

“They were doing really well against Miami, really had that game in the bag,” Stroud said Wednesday. “Then same thing with Cleveland, played them really tough. Then of course kind of had a little off day against Buffalo. I don’t think their record speaks for what type of football team they are.”

Houston (2-1) suffered its first loss in a 34-7 blowout against the Minnesota Vikings. The offensive line struggled to avoid the penalties, but Stroud never got in a rhythm passing, tossing two interceptions that eventually led to scoring drives.

Houston’s yet to cover the spread despite being favored in all three games. Running backs Dameon Pierce and Joe Mixon could be out Sunday. The same goes for Tank Dell, who left early in Sunday’s loss with what is being ruled a chest injury.

Dell terrorized the Jaguars last season, hauling in 10 passes for 195 yards and two TDs in two games. His absence could lead to more struggles through the air while facing a potent pass rush headlined by Josh Hines-Allen.

“They have a really great D-line starting with Josh Hines-Allen and (Arik) Armstead, and ‘44’ (Trevon Walker) on the other side. [Andre] Cisco is playing good ball, five, getting coached really well,” Stroud said. “So another great defense we have to play against and we have to be on our A game. I definitely don’t think their record shows exactly what they put on film.”

Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT.