There may not be a team the Jacksonville Jaguars and their fans loathe at this point in time more than the Houston Texans. After what transpired in Duval County last year in a Texans win in week 13, there are a ton of hard feelings in Jacksonville as players and fans alike have this one circled on their calendars. Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence said this offseason that he’s got this one front and center for a little extra, given how it all played out last December.

But, it’s circled on the Texans calendar too as they try to get off the schneid after a difficult 0-2 start, including Monday Night’s gutpunch loss to the 2-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Texans took the lead with nearly two minutes left to go in the game. But, QB Baker Mayfield led the Bucs down the field to a game winning touchdown with six seconds left. That left the Texans 0-2 and searching for answers.

Similarly, the Jaguars had a second straight victory in their grasp, but allowed a Jake Browning game winning drive for the second time in three years in a 31-27 loss to Cincinnati. That loss left some questions for the Jaguars as well, so this game on Sunday is intriguing for many reasons. But, just know it’s going to be extremely vitriolic and nerve-wracking for a full 60 minutes.

With that as the backdrop, let’s get to Know the Texans’ Week 3 Foe – the Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars 2025 Schedule (1-1)

Week 1 – W Carolina Panthers 26-10

Week 2 – L @ Cincinnati Bengals 31-27

Week 4 – @ San Francisco 49ers

Week 5 – Kansas City Chiefs

Week 6 – Seattle Seahawks

Week 7 – Los Angeles Rams (London)

Week 9 – @ Las Vegas Raiders

Week 10 – @ Houston Texans

Week 11 – Los Angeles Chargers

Week 12 – @ Arizona Cardinals

Week 13 – @ Tennessee Titans

Week 14 – Indianapolis Colts

Week 16 – @ Denver Broncos

Week 17 – @ Indianapolis Colts

Week 18 – Tennessee Titans

Jaguars OFFENSE (in 2025 regular season)

Rushing Yards Per game – 169.5 ypg (1st in the NFL)

Passing Yards Per game – 219.5 ypg (14th)

Total offense per game – 389.0 ypg (4th)

Turnovers lost – 3 (3 INT)

Expected Jaguars starting offense for Week 3

Other Key Offensive pieces

  • Italics – Rookie
  • ALL CAPS – New to team in 2025

Keys to Winning v. the Jaguars Offense

  1. Two Headed Monster…a FAST one – The Jaguars running backs have been a clear arrow up for this offense in 2025. The arrival of new head coach Liam Coen seemed to give a major jolt to Travis Etienne, a running back many thought was done in Jacksonville. But, under Coen, he’s been rejuvenated and when the Jaguars saw the Texans struggle to stop the run on Monday Night, his eyes must’ve lit up. Tampa Bay RBs Bucky Irving and Rachaad White are good backs, but neither of them impact an offense more effectively, and are more dangerous, than a healthy Etienne. But, the Jags star has a running mate, no pun intended, rookie Bhayshul Tuten, who can absolutely fly; he ran 4.32 in the Combine. His presence allowed them to trade Tank Bigsby to Philly and I was convinced Bigsby was going to supplant Etienne. That didn’t happen and now the Jaguars lead the league in rushing over two games. Regardless, that’s a two headed monster that is chomping at the bit to see this Texans defense.
  2. Edge Up – Heading into last year’s game in week 13 in Jacksonville, the Jaguars starting tackles Walker Little and Anton Harrison had very little experience playing together. Shoot, they had very little experience, period. Little had stepped in for Cam Robinson, who was traded to Minnesota and is now with the Texans. Harrison was just in his second year and the Jaguars duo had to face one of the best edge pairings in the NFL – Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Not only did the Jaguars OTs hold the Texans star edge guys in check, the Jaguars, as a team, didn’t allow a sack. In fact, they allowed just one QB hit each to Anderson and Hunter. That’s it. They really controlled the game. However, in this matchup, this can’t happen again if the Texans are to win this game.
  3. How much Hunter? – This is just my gut, but I think the Jaguars have been holding Travis Hunter back a bit to save him for this important matchup with the Texans. He’s had little to no impact on either side of the ball, but I just keep thinking about Tank Dell from two years ago. Tank started off his career fine as a rookie in the first two weeks, but in week three in 2023, Dell broke out in a HUGE way at Jacksonville, truly kickstarting his rookie campaign against the defending division champions. I could see Jacksonville pushing a lot of chips to the middle of the table this week with Hunter, especially on offense, being the one with the most return in week three.