Jaguars vs Texans: Week 12 Halftime Thoughts
The Jaguars are entering halftime with a 13-7 lead over the Houston Texans.
So, what did we see in the first half of the potential AFC South title game? We break it down below.
The quarterback duel has been everything it was predicted to be
The NFL is lucky to have Trevor Lawrence vs. C.J. Stroud twice a year. The two young franchise quarterbacks traded counterpunches all half, with each quarterback making several "wow" throws. Each has fantastic efficiency and stat lines, and Lawrence's would look even better if Calvin Ridley hauled in a third-down touchdown from Lawrence.
Stroud played better than Lawrence in the first matchup, but it has been even today. Each quarterback has been spectacular at best and consistently solid at very worst, putting together the kind of quarterback clash that should help define the AFC South for the next 10 years.
Cam Robinson's injury shows the importance of improved offensive line depth
The trade for Ezra Cleveland is already paying off for the Jaguars. Losing your starting left tackle is never ideal, but the Jaguars were able to score a touchdown on the following drive in large part because of the offensive depth that the Cleveland trade provided then. With Robinson on the background, the Jaguars were able to move Walker Little to his natural position at left tackle, setting Cleveland up to take over at left guard.
Cleveland made a big play, too, when he led D'Ernest Johnson on his 42-yard catch with an excellent block all the way downfield. The Jaguars would go on to score a few plays later, with Cleveland already helping pay dividends for the Jaguars' offense, even if his Jaguars career didn't start out with him in the lineup.
Josh Allen showed up to play
In games like this, teams need their best players to show up. Josh Allen has been arguably the Jaguars best player all season, so it is no surprise that Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson placed an emphasis on his importance this week.
“Well, that’s up to Josh to strain and dig and try to do everything he can to affect the quarterback. Josh has done a nice job all season and it’s going to take another one of those performances," Pederson said on Friday. "Again, their offensive line is playing good too, and they understand where Josh is going to be. I’m sure they’ll have some intention that way. Josh is just going to have to fight through that. When you have good seasons, you earn the respect of your opponent, just like we will with Will Anderson or Greenard or whoever, Chris Jones, whoever we’re playing. Those players, in Josh’s case, have to continue to battle out there.”
The first two defensive series showed that Allen was ready to do just that. Allen nearly sacked C.J. Stroud on the first third down of the game, eventually forcing Stroud to scramble short of the chains. On the second drive, Allen drew a holding call on first-down, recorded a quarterback hit on second down, and nearly had another sack on third-down.
To beat this Texans team, the Jaguars will need a signature Allen performance. The flashes of it happening showed up in the first half.
