Three Jaguars to watch against the Houston Texans

If the Jacksonville Jaguars are to get a win in the final game of the season against the Houston Texans, these three players will need to step up.

It’s a chance for the Jacksonville Jaguars defense to once again prove just how good they are. As the team prepares for it’s game on Sunday against the Houston Texans, Jacksonville has a chance to prove it can stop a mobile quarterback.

The team’s luck has been great with signal callers who can beat them with their legs as well as their arms. For defensive coordinator Todd Wash, this is the last chance for him to put his stamp on a unit that has been much maligned in the first half of 2018 and has some prognosticators thinking his job is still on the line.

"“Obviously, there’s a lot of pride in that room,” Wash said Thursday when he met with the media. “They’re going to go out and they’re going to play hard. It’s just who that group is. It has nothing to do with us as coaches or anything else. They just have a lot of pride in how they play the game.”"

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The defense has gotten itself back together of sorts the past few games, playing at the level it should have been at from the start of the season. Now, faced with a chance to stop Watson and the offense, this team can play the role of spoiler, making the road in the playoffs a bit more difficult for their AFC South rival.

"“After ranking second in the NFL in yards allowed last season, the Jaguars rank fifth in total yardage this season – and a solid performance Sunday would mean a third consecutive top 10 finish defensively,” John Oehser of Jaguars.com wrote this week."

Jacksonville is essentially playing with house money this week. A 5-10 record with a chance to finish 2018 with two straight wins. In order to do that, the offense will have to find a way to score. The 16.1 points per contest this season is ranked 30th in the NFL. By contrast, the Texans score 25.5 points a game, which is 10th in the league.

If the Jaguars want to finish the season with a modicum of momentum to build on (not sure if it means anything other than a lower first-round draft pick in April), then watch for these three players to step up in Week 17 against their rival Texans.

Jalen Ramsey – Not that Jalen Ramsey has to improve his game, but he is playing against DeAndre Hopkins in one of the premier matchups of the season.

Watching these two stars is worth the price of admission, alone. Ramsey has the utmost respect for Hopkins, who is regards as the player at the top of his game. He told the media this week he believes Hopkins and Odell Beckham, Jr are the top two wide receivers in the NFL right now.

Since the defense is playing better and the secondary has cut down on its missing assignments and players are communicating more, it could be another tough day for Hopkins and the Texans passing game.

T.J. Yeldon – Before Friday, it looked like T.J. Yeldon would be inactive once again and Carlos Hyde would get the nod in place of Leonard Fournette. Now, the veteran Hyde is nursing a knee injury he suffered in practice on Friday afternoon and is questionable for the game on Sunday.

Fournette is doubtful with a foot and ankle issue. Yeldon, who will test free agency next season, will be called to action after being a healthy scratch last week at Miami.

No Jaguars player has run for 100 yards this season, which is crazy given the team averaged 141 yards a game last year. That was tops in the NFL. If the Jaguars get the running game going, Yeldon could have a big day on the ground and catching balls out of the backfield.

DJ Chark Jr. – DJ Chark has missed the past five weeks with an injury, but practiced all week and is ready for the finale. Can he make a difference in the passing game? On special teams, he has been one of the better players and remains one of the faster players in the NFL.

Scott Milanovich must find a way to use Chark’s speed and height (6-foot-4) to make key plays on third down. A lanky receiver who is also a red zone threat, will the offensive coordinator open the play book and throw caution to the wind?

If so, Chark may finally show some of the promise the team believes he had by making him a second round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.