This week, the 1-6 Jacksonville Jaguars face off against the 1-6 Houston Texans. The Texans only win came against the Jags in Week 5. Meanwhile, Jacksonville has lost six straight after beating the Colts in their first game.
Jake Luton’s First Start
Jake Luton is a rookie sixth-round pick, who gets his first start with Gardner Minshew II out. The former Oregon St. QB had 2,714 yards, 28 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions last year. He added a rushing score and a 149.8 rating. Luton has a pretty strong arm, so he will likely be looking downfield for DJ Chark, the Jags star wideout. Luton will have a favorable matchup against a bad Texans secondary.
Texans Offense
Earlier this season, the Texans receivers tore up the Jaguars awful secondary. Brandin Cooks had 8 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown, Will Fuller had 4 receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown, and Randall Cobb had 6 receptions for 47 yards. TE Darren Fells also added 57 yards and a touchdown. Watson was able to shred the Jags secondary for 359 yards and 3 touchdowns but made a couple mistakes and was picked off twice. RB David Johnson also had a nice game with 96 yards on the ground. If the Texans have this kind of production against the Jags on Sunday, and the D can just be so-so against rookie QB Jake Luton, they should have no trouble winning this game.
DJ Chark’s Inconsistency
DJ Chark Jr. was one of the elite receivers in the league last year and although he’s had a couple nice games, he’s been inconsistent. This is not really all his fault, as he’s been dealing with injuries, and Minshew has been overthrowing him sometimes. Chark is still the Jaguars X-Factor on offense, and draws a couple double teams, so even when shutdown he’s still providing an impact. His best game of the year was against the Bengals where he had 95 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even missing a game last year he put up 1,008 yards and 8 touchdowns, so we know what he is capable of. Look for a good game from Chark vs a pretty bad Texans secondary. Chark will also get more down the field looks with Jake Luton, who has a better arm than Minshew.
Keys to the Game
Texans
Watson needs to get the offense going, and get the ball to the playmakers, Cooks and Fuller V. Both can be deadly and the Jags D will likely be overmatched. Last time the Texans faced off against the Jags, Watson made some mistakes. If they cut down on those, this could be a blowout. The Texans need to stop James Robinson, and if they do that, Luton will be throwing a lot. Putting pressure on the rookie will be the key for the Texans D.
Jaguars
The Jags need to make sure the run is going well, so Jake Luton doesn’t have to do it all. DJ Chark Jr. is your deep threat and you need to get him open for Luton to throw a couple big strikes. The Jags D needs to force turnovers, and get the ball back. The Jags defense has been pretty atrocious this year and them playing decent could be a big factor. James Robinson will need a pretty solid day, and provide checkdown looks for Luton as well.