The Jacksonville Jaguars have won three games in a row and could go 5-1 into their BYE if they beat the Houston Texans in Week 6. Of course, it won't be a walk in the park despite the fact that Houston has just one game this season.
After all, C.J. Stroud is playing some of the best football of his career heading into the game, and the Texans have enough talent on both sides of the ball to crawl their way into the thick of the AFC South race.
That said, the Jags are far from a pushover. They're currently one of the hottest teams in the league and have enough talent to repel Houston, a reality that rival general manager Nick Caserio acknowledged just before the London game.
Texans GM Nick Caserio knows the Jaguars have built a talented team
Nick Caserio made an appearance on Texans Radio. He discussed the Jaguars heading into Week 6, acknowledging that the trio of Liam Coen, James Gladstone, and Tony Boselli has put together a foundation to have sustained success beyond 2026.
"This is one of the best football teams in the league," Caserio said (10:15 mark). "They've done a great job of putting the team together. Say in a short period of time, Tony Boselli, James [Gladstone], and Liam [Coen] have done a great job of kind of building the team and kind of their image of what they want it to look like. They won 13 games last year, and they've started off well. It's a very well-constructed, well-balanced team in all three phases."
Caserio continued, "Offensively, Liam does a great job of basically putting his team in a position, and they execute at a high level. They're pretty balanced. Trevor's playing at a high level. I think he's completing near a career-high percentage wise, so they're playing really efficient football. They got really good skill players around him."
Later in the exchange, Caserio talks about Jacksonville's skill-position players, the defense, and the special teams. You could make the case that he's been cordial because the Texans and Jacksonville are set to face off against each other, but he certainly didn't go out of his way to praise a divisional rival.
Moreover, Caserio isn't lying. The Jaguars have one of the best winning percentages in league history since Coen took over. Granted, it's a small sample, but it shows the team is trending in the right direction.
For his part, Gladstone has kept the best foundational pieces that the past regime took over and has added intangibly rich players — players who love football and are gritty — to the roster the past two years.
Of course, Caserio is a good general manager in his own right. Since the Texans moved on from Jack Easterby, Caserio has brought in players such as C.J. Stroud, pass rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., and defensive back Jalen Pitre. All of them have played a role in Houston making the playoffs each of the past three years.
In Week 6, both Jacksonville and the Texans will get to test which has the better roster of the two.
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The Jaguars are getting the recognition they deserve (because they're winning)
Before Liam Coen and James Gladstone took over, the Jaguars struggled to win games on a consistent basis. They're actively working to buck that trend, and that's resulted in widespread recognition across the NFL.
You could argue that being a small-market team has also prevented the Jags from building a bigger profile, but that hasn't been an issue for clubs like the Buffalo Bills or the Green Bay Packers. Simply put, the more you win, the more attention you're going to get, and it all starts with building a solid core.
Nick Caserio recognizes that the Jaguars have done just that, and they'll get a chance to showcase how good it is when they play the Texans in Week 6.
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