Jags are a big matchup this weekend as they head to Houston to take on the Texans. What is your guys' biggest concerns on Sunday besides CJ's route.
Well, I'll go with eighty six Dalton Schultz, their tight end. When you watch the tape, you see that he's the safety valve, the security blanket, the guy who helps that quarterback when things get rough and they need to extend a drive.
Watch out for Dalton Schultz on Saturday.
A revived Texans running game which Jaguars have to stop.
Welcome to jag Zam on this Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I'm tay Nannie Stevens, Brian Sexton, John Osier with me as we get ready for the Texans game on Sunday. It's going to be a big one for the Jaguars. We'll start out with our first big thing today, which is Texans, not Titans. We know Jags fans like to hate on
the Titans, and that's fair. I think we all hate on them a little bit, but the Texans may be the team that we need to shift our focus to for the coming future of seeing how good this team has been able to be at as quickly as they've been able to do that. Doug Peterson talked a little bit earlier this week about the matchup.
I mean, it's game eleven, but they're all they're always big, right, I mean, meantime you play your your division, they're all big games and and you know, obviously we understand what this team did to us, you know, a few weeks back, and it's it is another you know game on the schedule, a lot of football ahead still, but you know it's big.
I mean, you don't ever want to go h and two against a Division four, you know, any any year obviously, but our guys, you know, our guys will respond again, you know, are just much likely did this week.
It's gotta take.
It's going to take a good week of prep and they're their film study and and all that, but great opportunity then as gonna be lowed. You know, they're playing extremely well. We are too, and it should be a good matchup.
Certainly should be a good match up. Brian, do you think this is the time that we should probably shift some of our focus in terms of what our rival is in the division and maybe focus on the Texans a bit.
Look the numbers say it right.
I mean, the Titans are there because they were here earlier than the Texans, and they gave the Jaguars their first ever loss in their first ever game. And of course no one will ever forget nineteen ninety nine. But these Texans have won twelve of the last thirteen and seventeen to the last twenty.
And I get it.
They've had great players through the years. Andrew Johnson, JJ Watt, Arian Foster. I mean, you can name them, but you know, in the last two seasons, they haven't been as good as the Jaguars, at least not on paper. The roster's not supposed to be as good, and they have beaten them twice in Jacksonville. This to me is the natural rivalry for the Jaguars.
Yeah, you mentioned focus, and maybe that's what what it is, because I feel like in the last three games since Doug Peterson and this team has been together, the Jaguars should have beaten the Texans all three times, and they dusted him last year when they were focused at the end of the season.
They've given away two games against the Texans.
Frankly, the touchdown or the interception in the end zone last year thrown by Trevor Lawrence, and then this year, twenty seven points went the Texans way off turnovers. I'm gonna say it all week and people get tired of hearing me say it. Play your game and play the way the Jaguars can, and they win this game.
The way the Jaguars play leads into our big thing, number two turnovers on the menu. Jaguars defense is at their best when they stop the run, and they forced turnovers, and that seems like that might be out there for the taking because CJ. Stroud had gone quite a long streak to start the season, hit start his NFL career without having a turnover, but he had three last week,
three interceptions last week against the Cardinals. So John, when you're looking at something like this, is this the game where we can kind of get to a rookie quarterback and hopefully get some takeaways because the Jags are very successful and they get to away is not as successful when they don't.
Well it's supposed to be.
I feel like it's sort of the same game as last week, except it gets a better team. The Jaguars should be able to stop.
This Texans running game.
It's been good last couple of weeks, meaning the Texans running game, but the Jaguars are the third best defense.
The NFL agains to run and that feels real to me. CJ.
Stroud throws the ball downfield a lot, and as a rookie, when you throw, when you throw the ball downfield a lot, that gives more time for interceptions. It should give more time in the pocket to get to them. There was a reason there were no sacks last time, Brian. They didn't allow the Jaguars much pass rush because they kept CJ. Stroud on short drops. Yeah, I think this is the game they get to Stroud.
It should be.
This is a takeaway team and got none. The logic tells you it's going to get some on Sunday.
I'll use the number that we talked about last week. And it's strange, but the Jaguars in the last twenty games in which they have not forced a turnover have not won.
That's twenties three losses in those games.
Look, this offense played better last week, put up more points, look more efficient, but they're still struggling on third down and there were there's two red zone possessions in the first half, Guy where they had a chance to blow this game out of the water and have it over at halftime, and they missed. So until this offense finds the rhythm or the tempo, or however you want to describe it, the defense needs to give them more possessions
and better field position, shorter fields. That's what they've done twenty times this year, and that's what they need to keep doing.
Our final big thing today is going to be QB comparison. C J. Stroud has been getting a ton of love nationally rightfully, so he's having one of the best rookie campaigns we've seen from a quarterback in quite some time. Tim Peterson talks about what he's seen on tape and in person.
I mean very impressed for a rooky quarterback to come in and you know, perform at this level. The way he's thrown the ball, I just really admire his poise. Quite frankly, he's putting the ball where he wants to put it, meaning it's very accurate throws. You know, he's got the ability to to escape and move and still keep his eyes down the field. I think that's a that's a unique trait for a young quarterback to be able to do, you know, and they're shooting the ball
down the field. You know, they're making making big plays down the field. And it's just what you see is it's gaining it's gaining confidence each week in him and his team. You know, that's a that's a reflection of coach, you know, Ryan Demko, and just been really impressed with him, Brian.
The Daggs are the victim of c J. Stroud and what he's been able to do in week three. How do they not fall victim to that this time around? And how does our quarterback, now that Trevor Lawrence is kind of getting in the groove a little bit, show what he's made up.
Well, let me start this answer with Shakespeare's great quote about comparison.
He called it the thief of joy.
You spend so much time trying to see what the other guy's got, you don't focus on how good your quarterback is and vice versa. I just think this is a great quarterback rivalry that we'll see in this division and I'm really looking forward to it. As far as how the Jaguars attack, well, I think they do attack. They didn't have a lot of tape. It was just the third start for CJ. Stroud, now we've seen how they set up him on offense and how they use the running game and what he does, and the Jaguars
will try to use that against him. They'll try to be very confusing to the young quarterback and get pressure. And I think one guy who's playing well in terms of putting pressure on the quarterback does still have the sacks John, But the last couple of games, Trayvon Walker has been around the quarterback and causing problems, and I think he comes into this game with an opportunity on Sunday to have a big game.
If I'm only halfway in my coffee, so I'm not going to quote Shakespeare a bit. I'll quote myself by saying what I've said all week about the Jaguars. If they communicate in the back end. They gave up two touchdowns on communication against the Texans. Without those, it's a twenty three seventeen game. It's a dramatically different game. I'm telling you the Jaguars hurt themselves as much as Stroud hurt them in Week three.
I agree they're gonna get a little bit of pressure. I think they can get better.
I think they can get better pressure with a base pass rush because Trayvon Walker is playing well, but communicating the back end and Shakespearean theme.
Or not, I think the Jaguars win the game. You know, it's interesting.
Also, I talked to foy luikin I know you did two in the locker room, and he talked about those communications issues and he said they've got to work on those on the practice field this week. It's not something that you can just rely on when you get into
the game. They remember to talk, right, You've got to play by play, be able to communicate, and in particular with Andre Cisco, because it's Cisco who is the quarterback of this defense, the guy on the deep third who is going to be out there with those speed receivers Nico Williams and Tank Dell who are going to be running down the field like they did here, So they're gonna have to be able to communicate.
Communication is key. Stay with us here on Jagsam. We'll be right back after the break as we go over who we think some of the stars of the game will be on Sunday is Welcome back to jaggs A. I'm here today get things going. For ten years, Dreamfinders' Homes has been proud to call themselves the official homebuilder
of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Visit dreamfinders homes dot com for all of the available inventory and go Jaguars back here today, we're talking Texans all day, so let's take a look at who we think might be some of the you know Notsir's stars, but will have a big impact on the game as we look forward. I think Andre Cisco Brian so you're gonna go He's gonna have a big impact one way or another.
Form Why he will, he won't, he might.
I'm going with Cisco, and Cisco will be the guy who determines if Jaguars get those takeaways. This quarterback will put the ball up. He did three times last week, including one of the first half, and he has four times in the.
Last two games.
And Cisco is that guy who early on in the season was around almost every takeaway. Look, he got beat last week with the miscommunication on the deep route to DeAndre Hopkins. And he's the guys who had to miss communication on Tank Dell's forty eight yard completion to set up a touchdown back in week three. I think Cisco will turn it around and be a much more effective communicator with the front seven this week against C. J.
Stroud, and that doesn't mean necessary. I don't know that he will come up with a takeaway.
It doesn't always happen that way, but if he does, he's the kind of guy with the athletic ability with the vision to take a big play and take it back.
So maybe he grabs a pick six love.
Six prediction b lock it down.
I hope they have a celebration ready to go. I'm sure they do. Probably got more than one at this point. John, whom you got this week are you looking at?
I went with Evan Ingram. He will, I think be an important part of the game plan. It's so hard in this offense to be the main guy these days because there's five different guys that they can feature. So when you say main guy, he won't necessarily have a one hundred yard game out of that focus because I
think that's still going to be left to Calvin. Really, I think Calvin really has a huge game on Sunday, But Evan might score his first touchdown of the season, and that I'd say it's been frustrating him, but he's waiting for it. I think maybe, like the Tennessee game up there last year. I think you might see Evan up toward one hundred yards with a little bit more downfield than he's had so far this year. He's been sort of the bailout guy a little more than he was last year.
I think he might be featured a little bit more this week.
Brian, I love to see an Evan Ingram game. He always kind of surprises you when he goes off a little bit, and that's an usually good thing for the offense because that means for having a good day. Well.
When the other team forgets about him, he's really dangerous.
He's very good.
When he's the focal point and when he's being guarded, but there's sometimes it's hard to always guard everybody.
Don't forget about him.
He might have had a big touchdown catch last week if Trevor I'd led him on that ball on the sideline instead of thrown a shore.
Where could have been? Where could have been? We'll have to find out this although he was Jay Jones this week for my pick. If he will, he won't. He might. We saw him back in action last week for the first time since he's been dealing with that injury. I think he will be a key in getting a change here in the third down problems that this team has been having. And that's just because he's in safety valve first harbor. Lawrence. Obviously we talked and saw a lot
of how Calvin Ridley benefited from the return. I don't think Zay Jones he won't leave the team in catches. I think Calvin will still be kind of a main focus, especially since they've got that timing down after last week and those two touchdowns, So I think that will still
remain a focus. But he might find the end zone because if he's at dafety valve on third down and kind of can help them get the chains moving, he might end up being in the target and the end zone when they get down in the red zone and they have those third down problems as well. Brian, I know you're hoping they could switch over on the third down problems.
Yeah, it's been a problem.
Hadn't been great, all right? Say with us coming up, we'll do a little this or that with you after the break here in Ta say, price dot com is the easiest way for you to save money with comparison, shopping, cashback coupons, all of that in one it is free triveprice dot com today, this Rice dot com presenting this or that for us today is we try to compare a couple of things. See what we think might happen in the game. Brian, what are you looking at when it comes to Week twelve against the text?
Real simple?
Is it the AFC South Title game? Or is it just game eleven?
Week twelve?
John, what do you think?
I don't think it's AFC's South Title game, but I think it might be if the Jaguars win it. And I guess what I mean by that is if the Texans win, it's still tied, and everybody says, well, the Jaguars schedule is so tough, the Texas schedules soft, they would pull away. The reality is, if the Jaguars lose this game and they go five and one the rest of the season tess to go four and two, then this game really wasn't a big deal except for seeding. So it's big, don't get me wrong, But I'm not
sure it's the title game. If the Jaguars win it, it might be because it's two games.
I saw an Oddsmaker series. The Jaguars win, they have a ninety percent chance of winning the Vision.
There's a lot of ground to make up if the Jaguars win.
I think it might be more problematic if they don't win, only because of the implications of what that has going forward. This team, we know has had issues not bouncing back because they've bounced back a well from a lot of their losses. But I think sometimes when the confidence gets in there, that can be a problem for them. So that would be more my someone has your number sort of thing, younger quarterback team in the division, that would be my concern probably, But.
Well, I think the Texans win this, then it becomes a huge storyline when they play next year because all of a sudden, this is the team that has your number,
so to speak. So it's important for that. I went with the biggest concern, biggest position group for the Jaguars is it the secondary or the defensive line, And there was so much talk after that first Houston game at the defensive line no sacks against the beat up offensive line, with the Texans have only given up eleven sacks since giving up eleven in the first two games, the offensive line was not as bad as it looked in the first two games, so I think the biggest, the most
important area of the Jaguars defense is the secondary. Darius Williams gave up two long touchdowns in that first game. He has had an outstanding season, two plays in that game were probably his two worst plays of the year. I've been saying it all week. I'm a broken record on it. Communicating the back end, and that game's a lot different. I think communicating in the back end, the secondary, how they play. CJ's going to take shots at you. How you pass that test will decide this game.
And the Dragars might be without CJ. Tyson Campbell against CJ. Stroud. We don't know what his status is going to be.
I'm sure Dougall say later today, day to day, right, and he'll be listed as questionable if not out. So you're going to go with Buster Brown again, and he's played well at times this year. However, last week there were a couple of moments where they were able on the few passes they completed to make him back off a little bit. On DeAndre Hopkins and Nico Collins is another big receiver.
It's the secondary for me too, and it kind of stinks because I feel like even the players that have gone in like Buster Brown or whoever else. They've stepped up and they've played really well. Unfortunately, it's that one play, right, which is the nature of the position. But when you're giving up that one huge play two maybe three times, that's the difference in a game, and that was the difference in some of their games, and they gave up that.
Cisco gave up that long play to the Titans last week, So that's a little bit concerning. So communication. Hopefully that comes together a little bit and we don't see a lot of those. And if you take away the home run ball, then that kind of takes away a lot of the Texans game, So that'll be good. I went with offense for mine of who we think might be a breakout star breakout Day saw Trevor Lawrence kind of get going two touchdowns on the ground, two touchdowns throwing
last week. But Eatn has been the mainstay in this offense throughout the year. So who do we think might have a bigger day on Sunday? John, Who are you looking at that might do a little bit better on offense?
Well, it's hard.
I love Etn and this isn't really him. It's hard to pick him to have a breakout day because they have struggled so much for consistency in the running game, because the offensive line just hasn't blasted out very many holes. So if I'm gonna pick a breakout day, I'm always gonna pick Trevor in this because he has a better chance to do it. If ETN has a breakout day, they win the game.
I'll take Travis. He had a sixty two yard touchdown run. I think it was sixty two yards in Houston last year. The game, it was early, the Didjagwars blew them out, but it was a statement play and I think he's capable of delivering that. Also, the offensive line played better last week. I would expect Walker little inside to continue to get better playing a position that he's never really played.
And I don't think that this defensive line, although they're okay, you know, Sheldon Rankins, got to get underneath you and fill some gaps. I think they should be able to find some holes in this defensive line and be able to run the ball.
And you know what it is with.
Trevor Or part of the Travis it's you know, two and a half yards two and a half yards twenty five yards, right, I think that's gonna be available to him on Sunday.
Well, I hope both of them go off, But selfishly, I like Trevor to just to see a little bit of a shootout. I think that might be fun for us. But you know, I know John doesn't like the drama. I like. I like the drama. The last second win, that's always fun for me. Say with us, we'll preview, I have our final previews, and we'll pick who we think is gonna win on Sunday in Houston. JAG's fans,
Do you want customized Jaguars furniture for your home? Check out zipchare dot com and browse all the customizable options. Zip Chair is furniture for fans. Jagxam is also brought to you by Field Autogroup Jacksamviilli can step up to luxury at Fieldsauto dot com. So this is our last jagxam of the week because we have the holiday tomorrow. Everybody I hope is going to enjoy their holiday RESTful day.
We found out that JP's a green Bean castrole guy yesterday, which I didn't I wouldn't have pegged him for, but so that's his go to side, John, Where's where are you at on Thanksgiving? You're just chilling on the couch. Someone else is cooking, Yeah, someone else is definitely cooking.
Yeah. I mean, I love the meal.
I'm not a great, big fan of any red food, so cranberry sauce beats all that stuff I can do without. Beyond that, I'll take anything comes my way.
I love to cook, and I love everything about this holiday.
I'll go to Public's late tonight and fight for the last can of yams.
I mean, I'm kidding, but I just, I just I love it. I love it.
It's football, it's family. It's my favorite week of the year. And I will be cooking two turkeys, smoking one, frying another, and I just I enjoy that whole process.
Absolutely, all the things we love all wrapped up in one. As we look a little bit ahead to that Texans game on Sunday, it's gonna be a great week altogether. You think the JAG's come out with a win in this one, Brian, I do, and it's because I think they were better football team, right.
I mean c J.
Stroud has in a revelation this year, but he's turned the ball over six times the last two weeks. Denigo Ryans is a Coach of the Year candidate with an offensive Rookie of the Year candidate playing for him. They've done a lot of really good things. I think the Jaguars learned a big lesson against the forty nine ers, and they are very mindful of the fact that they have to play their best football every Sunday from here on out.
You can't have a down moment.
And I just got the sense talking to guys in the locker room this week that they're prepared for this, and so I think they come away with a win. It might come down to a field goal at the end. They've got a strong legged kicker, so be it just come.
Away with a win.
Yeah, I'm guessing the players went back sort of just like I did this week, and realized they gave the game away in Week three, even though it was a twenty point game, they drove inside. They had three drives that didn't inside. It didn't end inside. The Texans fifty one was an interception, one was the last drive of the game, and one was on the forty six. They
never had a three and out. It was a twenty seven points on turnovers and you had two mental areas I'm talking about you had a field goal block, you had a field goal missed. Don't do those things. Just play smart and relatively error free, and you're the better team. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. The textans are coming, but I think that lesson will have them focused knowing, hey, if we don't play well, these guys will beat us.
If we do, we're fine.
So I think that makes it a game where you can play your game, not have to press, just do what you do.
And this is the time of year Ki, you know, late November Thanksgiving, where the contenders separate themselves in the NFL. And the Jaguars believe they're a contender and they have a quarterback who plays really well in this situation based on what we saw last year, I expect him to come out and play really well also, and I think that's the difference.
Here's hoping for Jaguars win this holiday weekend. We wish you all happy Thanksgiving and enjoy it with your families and your friends and enjoy the game on Sunday. We'll be back here on DIAXAM on Monday to recap