Moeller: Jaguars Need To Exorcise Houston's Past Demons Sunday in Texas
The Jaguars have to exorcise those Houston' nightmares of the past.
They need to take an early stance against a struggling 3-5 Texans' team that did manage to take Denver down to the wire last week. Playing in Houston won't be easy.
The Houston Texans were once a thorn in the side of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Houston had won seven straight games in Jacksonville, and they led the overall series in dominating fashion, 31-15.
That was until Sept. 21 when the Jags posted a 17-10 victory at the Bank. It was the end of a streak that saw the Jags usually come out flat against the Texans.
Now, the Jags have to win in Houston Sunday. They lost last year, 24-20, in the Lone Star state, but previously posted victories there in 2022 and 2023.
A playoff berth isn't out of the question in their foreseeable future. Playoffs? No, it’s not too early and you can't take anything for granted.
This Sunday suddenly looms as a must-win situation for them. At 5-3, they currently hold the seventh playoff spot in the AFC.
Last Sunday’s 30-29 victory in Las Vegas wasn’t pretty, and it shouldn’t have been as difficult. Their offense came alive in the second half, but they nearly lost a seesaw battle with the hapless Raiders. This was the same Raiders’ team that managed 184 yards of offense and seven points in Thursday night’s loss in Denver.
Still, it was a much-needed win toward the Jaguars’ playoff aspirations.
General manager James Gladstone played his part in keeping his team's postseason hopes alive. A few days after the Jags’ victory in Vegas, Gladstone acquired Raiders’ wide receiver Jakobi Myers for two 2026 draft picks.
The 28-year-old Myers, who reportedly was highly coveted by many teams at the trade deadline, has 33 receptions for 352 yards this season. Myers, who always had hid a head ceiling since his New England days, suddenly led the team in receptions aside from Brian Thomas Jr’s 30 catches this season.
Myers will fill the void left by Travis Hunter’s apparent season -ending injury, and he makes the Jags’ receiving corps quite deep, especially with the recent rise of Parker Washington.
Jacksonville also will get a break with Texans’ starting quarterback C. J, Stroud and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn out. The Jags need to corral Texans’ backup quarterback Davis Mills.
However, the Jags will need to find a way to penetrate Houston’s top-ranked defense that has allowed 267.4 yards per game. They are ranked fourth in pass defense (177.5) and sixth in run defense (89.9).
The Jags’ defense will again be missing corner Jourdan Lewis, but the rest of their unit will be intact.
Ironically, it’s another matchup with Houston in which the Jags can’t afford a letdown. A win there will bring them home to the Chargers next week with some momentum into a situation that will be another test of their character and potential postseason mettle.
Dipping into the second half of the season, the Jags can’t afford to possibly let another one slip away like they almost did in Vegas. At nine games, you can start to look ahead to the playoff picture. There’s two big dates with Indianapolis quickly coming up on the calendar.
The Jags can’t allow their past against Houston to come back and haunt them Sunday afternoon.
