Can the Jaguars Use the Same Formula to Beat the Texans?

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The Jacksonville Jaguars were a paltry 4-12 last year in head coach Gus Bradley and general manager David Caldwell’s first season with the team. As bad as the Jaguars looked, they were significantly less disappointing than their AFC South brethren who handed them 2 of their 4 wins – the Houston Texans.

So if the Jaguars were able to handily beat a fledgling Texans team last year, they should be able to take them down in 2014 right? After all, the Jaguars are a much better team on paper.

Well it appears the Jaguars will have to work a little harder to get 2 more wins from the Texans this year, as Houston is 6-6 and in the thick of the AFC playoff race. After a disastrous 2013 campaign, head coach Bill O’Brien has righted the ship and put the Texans on a course for a winning season despite questions at a handful of positions.

The Texans don’t look drastically different personnel-wise from 2013, so the Jaguars should be able to draw a few things from last year’s showdowns. So how did the Jaguars win last year?

1.Limiting turnovers

The Jaguars had a total of ZERO turnovers in their 2 games with the Texans last year, and they forced 3 turnovers of their own. The Jaguars had a hard time scoring last year, so they had a razor-thin margin for error, especially in the turnover department. They need to adopt a similar strategy on Sunday, and that falls on the shoulders of Blake Bortles, who did a good job last week in playing within himself and not throwing any interceptions.

2. Stopping the run

The Jaguars held the Texans to less than 83 yards rushing in both of their games last season, and they forced them to be a one-dimensional passing team with a terrible quarterback. The Texans were without Arian Foster for both of their games last year, so the Jaguars will have their hands full on Sunday.

3. Having the better quarterback

The Jaguars trotted out Chad Henne at quarterback for the most part last year, which meant they very rarely had the upper hand at the all-important position. They had the good fortune of facing a Texans team with the two-headed monster of Case Keenum and Matt Schaub at the helm, so the Jaguars had the marginal advantage with Henne. The Jaguars’ coaches did a better job of managing Henne and manufacturing some offense around him, so they were able to squeeze out the two wins. While not exactly a world beater, Ryan Fitzpatrick is a significantly better player than Schaub or Keenum. Coming off a historic 6 touchdown performance, it’s hard not to give him the edge over a promising but young rookie in Bortles.

So, can the Jaguars use the same formula to beat the Texans this year? Probably not. They are going to have to make a lot more plays, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Blake Bortles and the young guys did just enough offensively to win last weekend, but they’re going to have to do a little more this Sunday. The Texans are a better team than last year, and you still have to account for this one guy named J.J. Watt who is pretty OK on defense.

Time to step up Blake, the Jags are going to need it.