Texans @ Jaguars
Final Score: Texans 37, Jaguars 17
Writer: Myles Nelson (@MylesNelsonPL on Twitter)
One of my favorite things about watching the NFL is that there really is an “any given Sunday” feeling, one that you just don’t get in many other sports. Yes, we probably all could have predicted how the Giants/49ers game was going to go earlier this week, but a lot of times, the outcome of a game is determined less by talent and skill, and more by who came out and executed their gameplan, and that kind of thing can be very hard to predict. Today, absolutely nothing went the Jaguars way, and there’s no better way to describe it than this:
ANDREW BECK WHAT ? pic.twitter.com/myxIChnNsd
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 24, 2023
Yeah, that’s a fullback who stole the kickoff return from the actual return man, fumbled the ball, and then picked it up and ran 85 yards for the longest kickoff return touchdown of this season.
Three Up
- Tank Dell – Dell flashed a lot of potential last week against the Colts and showed out again today. His speed makes him a big play threat at any given moment, and he had two big plays today in which he just outran the coverage. His 68-yard TD catch benefited from miscommunication in the Jaguars secondary, so I wouldn’t necessarily count on this performance every week, but he always has the potential to go off like this. Better yet, he wasn’t just used on go routes or deep routes; they looked for him a lot in short and intermediate routes as well. The Texans’ passing offense looks much better than anticipated, and Dell is definitely someone worth rostering.
- C.J. Stroud – Speaking of the Texans passing offense, C.J. Stroud looks every bit the real deal at quarterback. Unbothered in the face of pressure, he read the defense well, went through his progressions, and did not unnecessarily bounce out of the pocket or force passes. He did get very lucky on one pass that should have been picked off, but other than that it was a fairly flawless outing for Stroud. The Texans will need him to win games because their rushing offense is not getting it done.
- Evan Engram – I could also put Travis Etienne Jr. here, but I think everyone knows what he brings to the table. The most encouraging thing for Evan Engram is that Trevor Lawrence did not seem particularly interested in throwing the ball deep, and Engram was pretty much exclusively running short and intermediate routes, and when the Jaguars started throwing the ball a lot in the second half, it was Engram who Lawrence kept looking for.
Three Down
- Trevor Lawrence – I’m not putting Lawrence here as an indictment on his talent whatsoever. In fact, none of the players listed in this section are here because of anything about their individual talent or skill level. However, Lawrence looks far too timid right now, and I’m not sure if that’s an unwillingness to push the ball downfield, or the playcalling not putting him in a good position to do so, but either way, the Jaguars’ passing offense looks far from explosive. They were down 17 with eight minutes left in the game, and Lawrence threw what looked like a screen pass to D’Ernest Johnson, which is not at all what you want to see at any point in the game, let alone when Jacksonville is chasing points. There is far too much talent here to worry about Lawrence long-term, but I hope he starts getting more aggressive.
- Christian Kirk – This ties into the Lawrence point above. Yes, Christian Kirk scored a touchdown today, but it was on a busted coverage that left him so wide open near the end zone that even Uncle Rico could have hit him. When Lawrence was looking for a wide receiver to throw to, he was forcing it to Calvin Ridley as much as possible, and with how much work Etienne and Engram get because of the types of routes they run, I’m just concerned that there won’t be enough work to go around for Kirk, let alone when wide receiver Zay Jones is back from injury as well.
- Dameon Pierce – First, let me say that Dameon Pierce is a talented runner and he did well to even muster the 31 yards that he got on the ground today. But that Texans offensive line is so bad that Pierce’s good weeks are going to be few and far between, and will almost certainly rely on touchdowns (like today) to save his day.
Houston Texans
Quarterback
C.J. Stroud: 20/30, 280 Yards, 2 TDs | 3 Carries, 14 Yards
As I said in my note on Stroud above, he is an incredibly mature passer as a rookie. He never looked rushed, never panicked, and you could see him going through his progressions on every dropback and not just forcing the situation at any time. He was taking what the defense was giving him pretty much at all times, and with the Texans not able to get anything going on the ground (I don’t expect that to change any time soon), Stroud had plenty of opportunities to make things happen.
Notes
- The offensive line didn’t give him a lot of time, but he always looked comfortable in the pocket
- Going to spread his passes around and didn’t look like he narrowing in on any one target
- Did get lucky that two different Jaguars dropped what should have been an interception, but other than that, played a flawless game
Missed Opportunities
- Should have thrown three TDs in this game as he threw a beautiful 46-yard bomb to Tank Dell on the second drive that fell two yards short of a TD
- Also could have had a rushing TD on that same drive as the first play after that pass was a QB sneak. So Stroud missed two chances at getting credit for a TD on that drive
Airing it out to @Tankdell4 ?? pic.twitter.com/4GUtyvxhCY
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 24, 2023
Running Back
Dameon Pierce: 14 Carries, 31 Yards, TD | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 28 Yards
I just feel bad for Dameon Pierce. It is clear as day that this man is a very talented runner. He cuts well, he’s explosive, but he gets hit behind the line of scrimmage all the time and it’s so painful to watch. The volume is there (most of Singletary’s work came in garbage time), but man he gets absolutely no help from the rest of his team out there.
Notes
- 90% of the notes I wrote on Dameon Pierce were some form of “run blocking sucks”
- His touchdown came from the 1-yard line after Tank Dell was tackled at the two and C.J. Stroud’s QB sneak fell short. He was close to not having that opportunity
Missed Opportunities
- Every touch he gets is a missed opportunity, a missed opportunity to run behind a competent offensive line
Devin Singletary: 9 Carries, 41 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 4 Yards
Notes
- Six of his carries and 29 rushing yards came on the final drive of the game
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Nico Collins: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 34 Yards
My biggest concern with this passing offense is that Stroud did such a good job of taking what the defense gave him, and that worries me that he’s not going to be reliable when it comes to feeding a wide receiver like Nico Collins. Collins showed how talented he is as he turned a three-yard pass into a 29-yard pass with an impressive run after the catch, but the gamescript wasn’t in his favor and Stroud just did too good of a job keeping the offense moving without needing to force feed Collins.
Notes
- His first catch of the game was a WR screen, so it was nice to see that the Texans wanted to get him involved
- Unfortunately both of his catches came in the first half, so he was very much a victim of the gamescript
- On the bright side, how often are the Texans going to be in a position where the gamescript won’t be in his favor?
Tank Dell: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 145 Yards, TD
This rookie is special: he is so fast and better yet, the Texans were willing to use him in all kinds of routes. Just about everything he did on the field today looked impressive, from making a contested catch in double coverage for 46 yards, to outrunning the entire Jaguars team en route to a 68-yard touchdown.
Notes
- Dell appeared to be literally always open. Some of that was his speed, and some of that was the Jaguars secondary miscommunicating, but he’s always going to have this potential
Missed Opportunities
- His 46-yard catch in the first quarter landed him at the 2-yard line, so he very easily could have had two TDs on this game
- The refs missed a defensive holding towards the end of the first half. It looked like Stroud overthrew him anyway, so it may not have mattered, but that could have been another big play for him
CJ ➡️ TANK ARE YOU KIDDING pic.twitter.com/t0TLxy1Cru
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 24, 2023
Robert Woods: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 34 Yards
Stroud found Robert Woods a few times, but mostly on short/intermediate routes once his first couple of reads were covered. I wouldn’t read too much into this.
Dalton Schultz: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
This man is so irrelevant in this offense. He did drop a pass that literally went right through his hands in the end zone, so there’s that. But he was pretty much invisible otherwise.
Brevin Jordan: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards, TD
John Metchie III: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence: 27/40, 279 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | 3 Carries, 12 Yards
I really don’t know what to make of this game for Lawrence. Part of me wants to write it off as the Jaguars came out completely flat-footed in this game and just couldn’t execute or get any kind of rhythm. But the other part of me wants to put that squarely on Lawrence’s shoulders for not showing any kind of urgency. He hardly looked to push the ball downfield, and all game long seemed just all too content to dump it off short, even as they were down 2+ scores for almost the entire second half.
Notes
- I don’t really blame the INT on him; it was a bit of a forced pass but it was an absolutely incredible diving catch by LB Blake Cashman
- Lawrence botched a zone read handoff with Etienne on 3rd and 2, it definitely cost them the first down and led to a missed FG by Brandon McManus
- I really hope Lawrence starts looking downfield more. With Ridley and Kirk on this team, he should absolutely be able to make some plays downfield
Missed Opportunities
- Ridley dropped a TD pass on the first drive of the game. A bit of a tough catch, but also very catchable
- The Jaguars were driving at the end of the second half until WR Jamal Agnew fumbled the ball at the HOU 30-yard line. Lawrence was finally showing some urgency and they probably put points on the board there if not for the fumble
- A DPI cost Lawrence another potential TD pass to Calvin Ridley, which led to Tank Bigsby‘s TD run
C.J. Beathard: 2/2, 9 Yards
Running Back
Travis Etienne Jr.: 19 Carries, 88 Yards | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 50 Yards
I don’t know impressed me more, how talented Travis Etienne is, or how badly the Jaguars want to feed him the ball. Etienne was the entire Jaguars offense at one point, as the first drive of the second half saw Etienne get four touches for 49 yards, both on the ground and through the air.
Notes
- Even when the Jaguars were down 14, with 4 minutes left in the first half, they were still going to Etienne first and foremost
- He’s incredibly shifty and is really a joy to watch
Missed Opportunities
- The first play that the Jaguars had in the green zone, they put Tank Bigsby at RB and let him run in the 1-yard TD.
Tank Bigsby: 2 Carries, 10 Yards, TD | 1 Target
Bigsby was out there for the Jaguars only green zone snap. Didn’t really get a whole lot of opportunities outside of that between the fact that the Jaguars spent the majority of the game down by 14+, and that Travis Etienne was more or less their entire offense at various points.
D’Ernest Johnson: 3 Carries, 6 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 6 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Calvin Ridley: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 40 Yards
The Jaguars were absolutely looking to get Ridley going to start the game, as he had four targets out of Lawrence’s first ten pass attempts. He did get banged up on two different plays early on, one leading to back pain and the other to leg pain, but neither incident kept him out of the game for more than a few plays. I do wonder how much of that led to the Jaguars going away from him after trying to force-feed him early on. Ridley didn’t have a catch in the second half until under 12 minutes were left in the game, and only had two targets in the second half, so perhaps he was more beat up than he let on.
Notes
- He was consistently winning routes in the first half, and Lawrence was looking his way every time he dropped back, so that’s an encouraging sign for him
Missed Opportunities
- Dropped a 30-yard touchdown pass on the first drive, it was contested but it was certainly catchable
- Dropped a pass on a slant route, probably would have been about a 10-yard reception
- Defensive pass interference cost him a 26-yard touchdown in the third quarter
Christian Kirk: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 54 Yards, TD
Five of Kirk’s targets, three of his catches, and 49 of his receiving yards came on the final two drives of the game with Lawrence finally willing to look downfield and push the ball. I was hoping with Zay Jones out that Kirk would get more opportunity, but for most of the game it looked like he was just out there to get his cardio workout in.
Notes
- His 26-yard TD catch came on busted coverage by the Texans
- He got a deep target again on the first play of the very next drive, with the Jaguars down 17
.@Trevorlawrencee and @ckirk connect for the tuddy!#HOUvsJAX on FOX pic.twitter.com/OXDaWzTH9Z
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 24, 2023
Evan Engram: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 67 Yards
After Lawrence spent the first half force-feeding Calvin Ridley, he spent the majority of the second half doing the same to Evan Engram. He consistently found Engram on short and intermediate routes.
Notes
- Engram had an impressive run after the catch on a drag route midway through the third quarter, I actually thought he was one of the wide receivers at first with the way he was moving
Jamal Agnew: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 49 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)
That fumble was a really bad fumble. Killed what could have been a lot of momentum for the Jaguars heading into halftime. Hopefully Zay Jones can come back next week.
Tim Jones: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
Brenton Strange: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 7 Yards
Luke Farrell: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards