Jaguars HC Doug Pederson not underestimating Texans ahead of Week 5

The Houston Texans are coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. They’re also among the worst teams in the NFL but Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson isn’t taking them lightly ahead of their Week 5 matchup at TIAA Bank Field.

Pederson spoke to the local media Monday and touched on several topics, including the Jags’ AFC South foe and what makes them a good football team.

“When you look at Houston, their win-loss record may not be what they think it should be or where it should be but this is a good football team”, Pederson said. “They’re really aggressive defensively, they’re young, they fly around, they’ve got some top draft picks over there that went out and got some quality free agents, and it’s a group that you’d better come ready to play”.

“Offensively, [they] might be young in some spots, quarterback being one of them, and just being able to handle that, we just got to have a great week of preparation, just keep focusing on us, fix the mistakes from this past week, and go play”, Pederson said.

The Texans tied with the Indianapolis Colts in the season opener but they’ve lost three straight games since then. Sophomore quarterback Davis Mills has completed 62.0 percent of his passes for 908 yards with five touchdowns with four interceptions. Their offense ranks 26th in the league in points scored while their defense is 17th in points surrendered, so Pederson might be into something when he says they might be better than their record suggests. Here’s Pederson’s whole exchange with the media.

The Jaguars can’t afford to take the Texans lightly in Week 5

The Jaguars are coming off a disappointing loss to the Eagles and they must regroup and fix all the things that went wrong in Week 4 if they want to get back into the win column. The worst thing Jacksonville can do is look down on the Texans. Sure, they lack playmakers at several spots but they also have a few talented pieces in place. In particular, their rookie class has stood out.

Safety Jalen Pitre registered two interceptions against the Chicago Bears in Week 2. Left guard Kenyon Green has started from Day 1 and his stock has gone up since the start of the 2022 season. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is still a work in progress but has recorded three passes in the past four games. Then, there’s running back Dameon Pierce, who toted the rock 14 times for 131 rushing yards with one touchdown against the Chargers in Week 3.

Having said that, the Texans might be a year or two away from competing. More than anything, Pederson is doing what anyone should do, and that is not to underestimate an opponent that doesn’t look good on paper but could end up pulling up an offset if taken lightly.

The Jags are a 7.5 favorite to win in Week 5, so they can’t afford to pass up the chance to rebound from their Week 4 loss and get back on track.