History 101: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

Football season is finally here! The defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the 2017 season tonight at 8:30 p.m. The rest of the league (minus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins) will open the season on Sunday, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.

To prepare for this weekend’s game, which will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston despite ongoing cleanup from the devastating Hurricane Harvey, let’s go over the history between the two teams, key statistics and expectations for Sunday.

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Series history

All-time series record: Houston Texans lead 19-11

Last Texans win: Dec. 18, 2016 (21-20)

Last Jaguars win: Dec. 5, 2013 (27-20)

Current Streak: Houston has won six consecutive games

Biggest Jaguars win: 27-0 (Dec. 7, 2003)

Biggest Texans win: 30-6 (Jan. 3, 2016)

Interesting takeaway: More than half of the games in this series (16 out of 30) have been decided by seven points or fewer

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Games played in Houston:

All-time: Texans lead the series 11-4 when playing at homep

Last Texans win: Dec. 18, 2016 (21-20)

Last Jaguars win: Nov. 24, 2013 (13-6)

Current Streak: Houston has won three consecutive home games

Biggest Jaguars win: 38-20 (Dec. 18, 2005)

Biggest Texans win: 30-6 (Jan. 3, 2016)

Games played in Jacksonville

All-time: The Jaguars are 7-8 against the Texans when playing at home

Last Texans win: Nov. 13, 2016 (24-21)

Last Jaguars win: Dec. 5, 2013 (27-20)

Current Streak: Houston has won three consecutive road games in Jacksonville

Biggest Jaguars win: 27-0 (Dec. 7, 2003)

Biggest Texans win: 21-0 (Dec. 26, 2004)

Quick thoughts: Houston has been tough at home against the Jags, winning 11 of 15 of those games. Jacksonville fares a bit better when it is the home squad, winning just under half of those games, but still having a losing record there. With Houston’s recent dominance of the Jaguars over the past three seasons, and winning 73 percent of the games at home, things are not trending in the Jaguars’ favor for Week 1.

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Key Player Individual Statistics

Jaguars offense:

Blake Bortles: six games, 125-234 (53.42 percent), 1,249 yards, six TDs, eight INTs, 24 sacks, 63.1 quarterback rating, 15 carries for 148 rushing yards (5.4 YPC), one TD, 0-6 record

Chris Ivory: three games, 27 carries for 111 yards (4.1 YPC), three receptions for 19 yards, zero total TDs

Allen Robinson: four games, 22 receptions on 42 targets (52.4 percent catch rate), 316 yards (14.36 avg.), two TDs

Allen Hurns: five games, 14 receptions on 33 targets (42.4 percent catch rate), 111 yards (7.93 avg.), two TDs

Marqise Lee: five games, 14 receptions on 31 targets (45.2 percent catch rate), 155 yards (11.08 avg.), zero TDs

Marcedes Lewis: 21 games, 38 receptions on 73 targets (52.1 percent catch rate), 530 yards (13.95 avg.), four TDs

Texans Offense:

Tom Savage: one game, 23-36 (63.9 percent), 260 yards, zero TDs, zero INTs, zero sacks, 85.4 quarterback rating, 1-0 record

Lamar Miller: five games, 67 carries for 256 yards (3.82 YPC), 11 receptions for 77 yards, one total TD

DeAndre Hopkins: eight games, 40 receptions on 80 targets (50 percent catch rate), 510 yards (12.75 avg.), two TDs

C.J. Fiedorowicz: five games, six receptions on 10 targets (60 percent catch rate), 48 yards (8 avg.), two TDs

Quick thoughts: Saying Blake Bortles struggles against the Texans is an understatement. He is winless in six tries against Houston and has only completed 53 percent of his passing attempts, while throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. Similarly, Houston’s Lamar Miller has been bottled up in five career games against Jacksonville (as a Dolphin and Texan). He only averages 3.82 yards per carry against the Jags, and has never ran for more than 83 yards against them in a game, while only scoring once.

Jaguars Defense:

Yannick Ngakoue: two games, two solo tackles, zero assisted tackles, zero sacks

Malik Jackson: four games, 11 solo tackles, two assisted tackles, zero sacks

Paul Posluszny: 11 games, 75 solo tackles, 35 assisted tackles, one INT, zero sacks

Telvin Smith: five games, 32 solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles, one INT, zero sacks

Jalen Ramsey: two games, 10 solo tackles, zero assisted tackles, one INT, zero sacks

Texans Defense:

J.J. Watt: 10 games, 48 solo tackles, nine assisted tackles, 14.5 sacks, one safety

Whitney Mercilus: nine games, 18 solo tackles, four assisted tackles, 7.5 sacks

Jadeveon Clowney: two games, eight solo tackles, one assisted tackle, one sack

Brian Cushing: 10 games, 46 solo tackles, 25 assisted tackles, zero sacks, one INT

Jonathan Joseph: 12 games, 47 solo tackles, seven assisted tackles, one INT

Quick thoughts: As it has done to many teams, Houston’s pass rush has given the Jaguars fits in the past. Namely J.J. Watt who has 14.5 sacks in 10 games against the Jags and Whitney Mercilus who has 7.5 sacks in nine career games against Jacksonville. The Jaguars have had plenty of struggles recently against the Texans, but Jalen Ramsey’s had two very solid games defending DeAndre Hopkins last season.

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What can we expect Sunday?

Both defenses are highly touted, and J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus have had plenty of success against Jacksonville. In addition to his 14.5 sacks, Watt has broken up nine passes against Jacksonville. He is a force and his length is also an issue. Jadeveon Clowney seemed to be coming into his own last season as well. Houston’s pass rushers are surely going to cause havoc against a weak Jacksonville offensive line, and it is a tough draw for rookie left tackle Cam Robinson, who will make his first career start. I would expect a lower scoring game, where the first team to 20 points should be in position to win.

And of course, Blake Bortes’ struggles have been well-documented. But the Texans are in a similar boat. Quarterback is a big question mark for them as well. Tom Savage is not a guy who strikes fear into opposing defenses. Will Fuller V, the team’s No. 2 receiver, is out with a broken collarbone as well. Again, Lamar Miller has struggled to run the ball against the Jags. This is likely going to be a defensive game. Savage respects this defense, namely Jalen Ramsey.

My other takeaway is to look for another close game. As mentioned above, 16 of the 30 games have been decided by a single score. Although the Texans have won six straight, both games in 2016 were decided by three points or less, and Jacksonville choked away a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter of the last meeting.

One last thing to consider based off of the history is the Texans’ record at home in this series. The Jags have only won in Houston four times in 15 seasons. Hopefully this year is different.

PS: I hope those of you who live in Florida are able to stay safe during Hurricane Irma. My thoughts are with you all.