Texans Game Day Newsletter 9 Dec 17th Houston_Digital | Page 63

AP Images the pace. As a team, the 19 interceptions ranks second in the NFL. This is a ball-hawking unit that can bait even the best quarterbacks into bad decisions. Against Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson, the Jaguars combined for 11 interceptions. After chasing Wilson around the backfi eld all day, the defensive line added two sacks to their league-leading total while adding six quarterback hits. Even after giving up 24 second-half points last week, including three scoring drives of two plays or less, the Jaguars defense stood up when needed to secure victory with a fi nal drive sack on third down and a fourth-down stop to get a turnover on downs. TEXANS VS. JAGUARS The Jaguars knocked off the Houston Texans in Week 1 at NRG Stadium, 29-7. The Texans had their full assortment of players on opening week, but since then they’ve lost key contributors: DE J.J. Watt, LB Whitney Mercilus, and QB Deshaun Watson just to name the big three. A tweet on December 5 from Houston Chronicle Texans beat writer John McClain sums up the Texans’ season: “In my 38 years covering the NFL, I’ve never seen a team suffer so many injuries, especially to key players, as the Texans have this season. Watt, Mercilus and Watson were just the tip of the iceberg. Six more went down Sunday, four more with concussions. They’ve started fi ve LTs.” That was before quarterback Tom Savage went out of last week’s game with a concussion. T.J. Yates is expected to start in his place this week and would be the third different quarterback to see time against the Jaguars in 2017. The Jaguars ran for 155 yards in the opening week win, including 100 on 26 carries for Fournette in his NFL debut. Dante Fowler Jr. returned a fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter to open a 19-0 lead heading into halftime, and the Jaguars never looked back in the second half. The last time the Jaguars swept the season series against the Texans was in 2013, but a win today could mean so much more than just a series sweep. It could mean a playoff berth for a team continuing to produce evidence that yes, there is a “new big dog” in the NFL.