AFTER HANDLING THE TEXANS , FIRST-PLACE JAGUARS WELCOME THE TITANS TO EVERBANK FIELD POST-HURRICANE IRMA
ANT SEASON-OPENER
AFTER HANDLING THE TEXANS , FIRST-PLACE JAGUARS WELCOME THE TITANS TO EVERBANK FIELD POST-HURRICANE IRMA
JACKSONVILLE – EverBank Field was spared the worst of Hurricane Irma ’ s impact early this week .
Flooding of the sidelines and end zones . Flooding of the parking lots and surrounding streets . Ceiling leaks around the stadium .
But , the stadium is ready – the organization is ready – to open EverBank Field for the regular season .
In the final hours leading up to Irma ’ s impact in Northeast Florida , the Jacksonville Jaguars ( 1-0 ) put together one of the most dominant victories in recent memory – a thorough whipping of the division rival Houston Texans ( 0-1 ) at NRG Stadium , their first seasonopening win since 2011 .
For many Jaguars fans , it was a final piece of entertainment before Irma knocked out power to hundreds of thousands in the area , destroyed homes and flooded parts of the area at the start of a rough week . But as Jacksonville residents continue to recover from the storm , the team returns home – after having to stay two extra nights in Houston – to face the division-rival Tennessee Titans ( 0- 1 ) with their first winning record since 2011 while sitting solely in first place .
The Titans are coming off a 26-16 home loss to the Oakland Raiders , a game in which the Titans ’ offense was held to only 95 rushing yards with running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry combining for only 18 carries .
It is a relatively unfamiliar position for the Jaguars , but after last week ’ s performance maybe we should start getting used to it .
LAST WEEK Nearly everything that Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin General Manager Dave Caldwell and Head Coach Doug Marrone promised in the offseason came true last Sunday in Houston .
1 . THE TEAM DOMINATED THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL – AS PROMISED IN COUGHLIN AND MARRONE ’ S OPENING PRESS CONFERENCE IN JANUARY .
The offensive line simply shut down a defensive front seven for the Texans that is regarded as one of the best groups in the National Football League .
It started with punishing run blocking , providing rookie running back Leonard Fournette room for a 26-carry , 100-yard rushing effort in his NFL debut . Veteran back Chris Ivory ran for 42 yards on 9 carries . For the day , the Jaguars as a team ran for 155 yards . It continued with a clean quarterback ; Blake Bortles was forced from the pocket more than once , but he was not sacked .
In fact , the big three on the Texans defense – J . J . Watt , Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus – combined for seven tackles and no sacks . Watt and Clowney had one each . They were a non-factor in the game .