Texans host Jaguars on Sunday with first place in the AFC South on the line
JACKSONVILLE (7-3) at HOUSTON (6-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
OPENING LINE: Jaguars by 1 1/2, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Jacksonville 7-3; Houston 5-5.
SERIES RECORD: Texans lead 29-14.
LAST MEETING: Texans beat Jaguars 37-17 on Sept. 24 in Jacksonville.
LAST WEEK: Jaguars beat Titans 34-14; Texans beat Cardinals 21-16.
JAGUARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (16), RUSH (17), PASS (16), SCORING (11T).
JAGUARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (4), PASS (29), SCORING (11T).
TEXANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (24), PASS (2), SCORING (10).
TEXANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (8), PASS (25), SCORING (14).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Jaguars plus-3; Texans plus-3.
JAGUARS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Calvin Ridley dropped three passes, including two in the end zone, in the first game against Houston in Week 3. He finished with three receptions for 40 yards. He’s coming off his best game with the Jaguars, a two-touchdown performance against Tennessee, and is looking for consecutive 100-yard outings for the first time since December 2020.
TEXANS PLAYER TO WATCH: Rookie WR Tank Dell set a rookie franchise record with 149 yards receiving last week. It was his third 100-yard receiving game and he has six TD catches this season, also the most by a rookie in team history. His second-best game this season came in the first game with the Jaguars when he had 145 yards receiving and a score. He ranks second among rookies with 659 yards receiving.
KEY MATCHUP: Houston rookie QB C.J. Stroud vs. Jacksonville’s pass defense. The second overall pick ranks second in the NFL with 2,962 yards passing and is the second rookie in NFL history to have three straight 300-yard passing games. The Jaguars rank near the bottom of the league in pass defense by giving up 254.4 yards passing a game. He threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Jaguars in Week 3, but is looking to clean up his play after throwing a season-high three interceptions last week.
KEY INJURIES: The Jaguars expect to get CB Tyson Campbell back after he sat out three of the last four games with a nagging hamstring injury. ... Texans RB Dameon Pierce returned to practice this week and could play after missing two games with an ankle injury. ... LB Henry To’oTo’o, who has missed the last two games with a concussion, also returned to practice this week. ... WR Noah Brown missed practice this week and could be out for a second straight game with a knee injury.
SERIES NOTES: Houston has won 10 of the last 11 meetings. ... Jacksonville’s only win in that stretch came in a 31-3 victory in Week 16 last season. ... Jacksonville’s woes against the Texans dates further back than the 11 games and the Jaguars have dropped 21 of the last 26 games in the series.
STATS AND STUFF: The Jaguars lead the NFL with 20 takeaways. ... QB Trevor Lawrence has four games in which he has completed at least 75% of his passes, which is tied for the most in the league this season. ... RB Travis Etienne has at least 110 yards from scrimmage in each of his three games against Houston. ... Ridley had five catches for 88 yards and a TD in his only game at Houston in 2019. ... Evan Engram ranks third among TEs with 59 catches this season. ... LB Josh Allen has 7½ sacks in his last seven division games. ... LB Devin Lloyd is looking for his sixth consecutive game with at least nine tackles. ... Houston RB Devin Singletary had 112 yards rushing with a TD last week and has had 100 yards rushing in consecutive games for the first time in his career. ... Brown has had at least 150 yards receiving in his last two games. He had two touchdown receptions in his only game against Jacksonville last year while with Dallas. ... TE Dalton Schultz had his fifth touchdown catch last week and is one of four tight ends in the NFL with at least five TD receptions in each of the last three seasons. ... LB Blake Cashman had a career-high 19 tackles, a sack and defended a pass last week. His 19 tackles were the second-most in the NFL in a single game this season. ... DE Will Anderson, the third overall pick in the draft, had two tackles for loss and his third sack last week. ... CB Derek Stingley had six tackles, defended two passes and had his first interception of the season against Arizona. He had an INT in his only game against Jacksonville last season.
FANTASY TIP: Dell has become Stroud’s favorite target in recent weeks and has two 100-yard games and four touchdowns combined in the last three games.
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