Houston @ Jacksonville preview
TIAA Bank Field
Last Meeting ( Dec 5, 2013 ) Houston 20, Jacksonville 27
The Houston Texans aim for their third straight road win as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Texans are in must-win mode as they trail Indianapolis by two games in the AFC South and are a game behind a cluster of six teams tied for the final wild-card spot. The Jaguars are headed for a high draft pick — they're tied for the second-worst record in the league — but are coming off a 25-24 win over the New York Giants.
If the Texans are going to sneak into the postseason, they'll have to string together some wins — something they haven't done since winning their first two games of the season. "If you want to get over the hump of being a playoff team, getting to the playoffs, you have to understand that you can't get complacent," Texans coach Bill O'Brien told reporters. "We have some momentum. We played well (last week), so I think our guys have confidence with what we're doing." The Jaguars, who swept two meeting last season, also have some momentum after they rallied from a 21-0 deficit last week to snap a four-game losing streak in the largest comeback in club history.
TV: LINE: Texans -6. O/U: 42.
ABOUT THE TEXANS (6-6): Houston's offense was tremendous in last week's 45-21 win over Tennessee in which Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a franchise-record six TD passes. Fitzpatrick found a new favorite target in second-year wideout DeAndre Hopkins, who had a career-high 238 receiving yards and two TDs. The Texans still have MVP candidate J.J. Watt anchoring their defense, but they placed No. 1 draft pick Jadeveon Clowney on injured reserve Thursday and announced the defensive end will need knee surgery.
ABOUT THE JAGUARS (2-10): Jacksonville had a pair of breakthroughs last week, as its 25 points marked a season high and it played its first turnover-free game of the season. The defense gets credit for a major assist thanks to three takeaways and a pair of defensive touchdowns. The Jaguars likely will need another strong defensive effort to pull off the upset, because the offense has not been effective with rookie quarterback Blake Bortles at the helm.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Texans RB Arian Foster (31) is tied with Priest Holmes for the most career 100-yard rushing games by an undrafted player.
2. Bortles needs 239 passing yards to join Byron Leftwich (2,819) as the only rookies in Jaguars history with 2,500.
3. Houston WR Andre Johnson needs nine receptions to pass Hines Ward (1,000) for No. 9 all-time and two yards to surpass Torry Holt (13,382) for 12th on the NFL list.
PREDICTION: Texans 27, Jaguars 19