Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans: Friday Fact or Fiction

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have had plenty to smile about this week after a huge comeback win versus the New York Giants, but they need to turn their focus to their division rivals coming to town. The Houston Texans are in the midst of a massive turnaround, finding themselves in the thick of the playoff race after a disastrous 2-win season in 2013.

continues to be a destructive force on the defensive line, and

has this offense clicking on all cylinders after absolutely annihilating the Tennessee Titans.

The Jaguars have to build on a good second half against the Giants and try to get some consistent play on offense to make this a contest.

With all that in mind, here are my rock solid predictions for this week’s game:

J.J. Watt will have 2+ sacks: FICTION

In case you haven’t noticed over the past few season, J.J. Watt is a pretty decent player. Kidding aside, he’s been the best defensive player and maybe the best player in the league all season, and it really hasn’t been that close. He has been a terror on the defensive line and is in the backfield on essentially every play. Still, the Texans don’t have a lot of sacks to show for it – they are 23rd in the NFL with with only 25 sacks, a decent bit less than Jacksonville’s 37 sacks. Teams have schemed around Watt to try and minimize the effect he has on every play, and expect the Jaguars to do the same. They won’t completely shut out Watt, and he’ll probably sneak in a sack somewhere since he moves around the line a fair bit, but the Jaguars should be able to run most of their plays away from the All Pro lineman.

Ryan Fitzpatrick will throw 2+ touchdowns: FICTION

Journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had the game of his life last week as he threw for 6 touchdowns against a Tennessee Titans defense that had all but thrown the towel in. Over the course of his career, Fitzpatrick has been a below average quarterback, so it’s reasonable to expect him to fall back to earth this week against a Jaguars’ defense that has been getting a consistent pass rush against opposing quarterbacks. If the Jaguars can play defense like they did in the second half of their game against the Giants for 4 quarters, then expect Fitzpatrick to be extremely limited in his production.

Blake Bortles will throw an interception: FICTION

Yes, three straight fictions! Blake Bortles had his first game of the year without a turnover last week, and unsurprisingly the Jaguars won. Bortles is starting to figure out that balance between taking shots down the field and taking care of the ball, so expect that progress to continue this week. The Texans have a respectable 15 interceptions on the year, but they’ve racked a lot of those up against bad quarterbacks like EJ Manuel and Derek Carr. If Bortles can take care of the ball again this week, the Jaguars have a chance.

The Jaguars have some momentum playing a second straight home game after a big win, but they need to start playing a lot better on offense to compete against teams like the Texans. They were a complete mess last week in the first half and what resulted was a 21-point deficit. They can’t do that again against a Texans’ defense that can torment opposing offensive lines. Right now, I just don’t see the Jaguars putting together enough offense to pull this one out.

PREDICTION: Texans 24 – Jaguars 16