A week after a demoralizing loss to the Tennessee Titans, the AFC South-leading Houston Texans might have a perfect opportunity to reboot when they face the host Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Then again, maybe not.
It depends, Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said, if the Texans (7-5) are “locked in” and able to make a December push.
“I just look at it as being intensely focused on your job and being where you’re supposed to be, executing the minor details of your job,” Ryans said. “It all comes down to minor, minute details that you get exploited if you don’t do them the correct way and teams find those and they make you pay.
“And a lot of the things, as I talked to our guys about, are things that we can control.”
Jacksonville (2-9), sitting at the bottom of the AFC South, is coming off a humiliating 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions. It marked the fourth straight setback for the Jaguars, who had dropped their previous three games by a combined 13 points.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson noted that changes are coming, although he opted not to show his cards.
“I’m not going to get into the whole details of things, but there are things in the run game that we have to get back to,” Pederson said. “Even in the passing game, tweaking some things there. There are things that can, hopefully, help our production over the last six weeks.”
One of those things could be the return of starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who has not played since Nov. 3 due to a left shoulder injury. Lawrence was a limited participant during practice on Wednesday, with Pederson telling reporters Monday that the signal-caller’s status for Sunday would be determined as the week progresses.
Pederson has also had his eye on Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has run into some struggles during his sophomore season.
Stroud has thrown nine interceptions in 12 games (all starts) after throwing only five as a rookie. He was picked off twice in the 32-27 setback against Tennessee, also throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns on 20-for-33 passing.
Pederson still believes the 23-year-old can hurt the Jaguars, though.
“Playing the quarterback position is hard,” Pederson said. “I don’t know everything that goes on down there. I’m sure there’s been injury, guys have missed (time). He’s missed his playmakers from time to time. And then there’s the film. There’s the film out there.”
The Texans have lost three of their past four games and four of their past six as defenses continue to solve Stroud.
Defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) and Denico Autry (knee) were among those who didn’t practice for Houston on Wednesday, and safety Jalen Pitre is expected to miss several weeks because of a shoulder injury.
Linebacker Yasir Abdullah (hamstring) was the only Jaguar to miss practice on Wednesday. Cornerback Tyson Campbell (shoulder) joined Lawrence as limited.
Sunday marks the second meeting of the season between the teams. The Texans topped Jacksonville 24-20 back on Sept. 29.
