The Jacksonville Jaguars are not fans of the Houston Texans. It's bad enough that the Texans are not only a divisional rival, but the assumed AFC South Champions; it's even worse considering the bad blood between the two teams. And now, the two teams are facing off in a Week 3 battle with a lot of anger behind it.
Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair notoriously had a dirty hit on quarterback Trevor Lawrence last season that caused a nasty concussion for Lawrence. He immediately began posturing on the field, a major warning sign, and had to be carted off the field. Meanwhile, both benches cleared in a brawl afterwards, with Jaguars players coming to Lawrence's defense.
With the Jaguars set to face Houston and Al-Shaair again, that situation was surely at the forefront of every Jacksonville player's mind, and they were prepared to fight back once again if any Texans started playing dirty. And when a situation arose, Jacksonville linebacker Dennis Gardeck did not take it lying down.
A shove from the Texans almost started a brawl
Tempers were already high going into the game, so when Texans fullback Jakob Johnson shoved long snapper Ross Matiscik; just as the first half was winding to a close, it exploded.
Dennis Gardeck immediately responded, shoving Johnson back, which then prompted numerous players from both teams to join in the fight.
There was just a scuffle on the #Jaguars sideline after a Texans player pushed Ross Matiscik. Dennis Gardeck shoved the player and was flagged for unnecessary roughness.
— Alessandra Pontbriand (@APontbriandTV) September 21, 2025
Incredibly, the Texans weren't penalized for this - the Jaguars were. Matiscik was hit from behind, and Gardeck understandably was angry. Yet it was Gardeck who was slapped with an unnecessary roughness penalty, not Johnson.
The officials reportedly did not see Johnson's shove - only Gardeck's - but all the same, the damage was done. The Jaguars were slapped with another penalty, and the only saving grace is that the Texans got one, too, albeit for a mere holding call. The two penalties offset, and the Texans ended up having to punt at the end of that drive.
But the brawl that almost started proved how heightened the tensions are surrounding this game. With Al-Shaair specifically, there is a reputation for ugly hits, and it's not entirely unexpected that the Jaguars would respond harshly with another dirty trick from a team that's become notorious for them.