3 Offensive Keys For the Jaguars Against the Texans, the League's Worst Run Defense

The Jacksonville Jaguars are playing for pride themselves this weekend against the Houston Texans. If they're going to leave with a win, it will take these three offensive keys.

“We have enough turmoil going on on our own over here. We have to figure our s--- out first, so we’re fired up.”

That’s how Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II feels about the Jaguars (1-3) upcoming matchup with the Houston Texans (0-4). The Texans fired General Manager and Head Coach Bill O’Brien this week, leading to a tumultuous week for the Houston team.

But the Jaguars, after starting hot, have hit a lull and are fighting for their own pride this weekend. To achieve that, it will take these three offensive keys.

Watch for Watt

Despite what the Texans record may indicate, they still have some of the league's top talent, none more so than defensive lineman J.J. Watt. The 10-year veteran has been averaging 3.25 tackles per game thus far in 2020, slightly down from the 3.8 he averaged in his last full year playing without injury (3.8 in 2018). He has two sacks and one pass defended through four games as well.

Minshew—who was sacked three times in the Week 4 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals—is aware Watt will have to be accounted for at all times…and that makes him respect the former MVP even more.

“J.J. [Watt], he’s definitely a guy you need to know where he’s at. You have to have somebody on him, a lot of time you want to have two guys on him. The biggest thing with him is he just won’t stop. He’s going to keep going. The second effort sacks, those clean-up sacks, he gets all of those. He’s always working, and I think it’s awesome to see one of the guys that’s been so good in this league for so long and it’s because of his work ethic and how hard he plays.”

Produce on 3rd-Down and Against Exotic Looks

The Jaguars were 2-10 on 3rd down against the Bengals. It’s a telling stat in and of itself, but the two punts to open the second half were the most crucial as Joe Burrow and Cincinnati countered with two touchdowns to run away with the score. Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden took a large part of the blame, citing his play-calling in forced passing situations.

In preparations for Houston, Gruden wants to have an answer for every possible look, especially on that money down.

“I think [CB Bradley] Roby’s playing excellent at corner and I think they have some good football players. The linebacker corps, very solid. They can run. They can hit. Obviously, [Whitney] Mercilus is an excellent pass rusher, so they have some weapons on defense that can make it difficult for you. They can rush four, they can rush five. They a have unique blitz package as well on third down. They can play man, they can play zone and that’s something we just have to be aware of.

“We have to make sure we protect the quarterback, number one, and then obviously try to stay out of those third down-and-longs because they can make it miserable for you. They can run three defensive linemen or two defensive linemen. They have the odd packages, they have the double A’s, they have a lot of different things they can do to you trying to confuse a young quarterback. So we have to do a great job of being on top of our protections and obviously the most important thing is staying out of third down-and-9 and 10.

“We just have to give them good options, good solid options. Whether it’s a good solid running play or maybe it’s a drop back pass. Like I mentioned before, we have to have a man answer, have to have some zone answers, we have to win on the outside, we have to have a good pocket, and we have to deliver the ball accurately and on time. Unfortunately, the last two weeks it hasn’t been that case, so it’s been something different that rears its ugly head. So we just have to continue to work them and make sure we get concepts that are good that can convert obviously the down and distance.”

Get the Run Game Heavily Involved

The Texans, even with Watt, have statistically been the worst team in the league against the run through four games. They’ve given up an average of 181.8 yards per game. On the flip side, the Jaguars run game has ridden rookie James Robinson to an average of 104.3 yards per game, firmly in the middle of the league pack.

That’s not enough, according to Gruden, and Robinson—who has been averaging 15 rushes a game—needs to get the ball more along with veteran Chris Thompson. This week is an opportunity to take advantage of what has been a bad run defense, and Gruden wants to strike.

“Obviously we’d like to have James [Robinson] getting the 20-25 carry range. That’s the ultimate goal, get Chris Thompson some more touches and go from there, but it doesn’t always work out that way with the score and conditions and what have you.

"The Texans, I think they’ve given up a 100-yard rusher in three games and I think Baltimore [Ravens] had a couple hundred yards rushing against them. They played good teams. Pittsburgh can really run the ball effectively. Obviously [the] Minnesota [Vikings are] always going to run the ball. They have [Vikings running back] Dalvin Cook, he’s an excellent runner. Baltimore has three guys that can run the ball, including the quarterback, that are very, very good. So it’s going to be important for us to try to get some runs in there and crack some and play physical with them and keep our quarterback clean, utilize the play action and go from there. That’s when we’re at our best anyway.”