The winless Houston Texans welcome the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. The Texans had another depressing loss against the Vikings last week that resulted in the firing of Bill O’Brien at long last. Despite making a fourth quarter run the Jaguars lost a close one to the Bengals.
The Texans should have some coach got fired motivation in this game. However, they’ll have to improve their run defense that was decimated against Dalvin Cook and the Viks offense. The bright spot for the Texans was Deshuan Watson and the offense looked a bit better. However, the running game gave little production yet again leaving Watson on an island.
In the Jags loss Gardner Minshew threw over 40 times yet again. Their third down efficiency was miserable leaving Minshew and the Jags offense playing catchup the entire game. They were two of 10 on third down forcing themselves to lose the time of possession and forced to throw.
TV Info
Date: Sunday, Oct. 11
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS
Broadcast map
Notable Statistical rankings (Football Outsiders)
Jaguars: #18 Overall — #5 offense, #32 defense, #20 special teams
Texans: #23 Overall — #20 offense, #27 defense, #12 special teams
DraftKings Sportsbook odds
Jaguars: +6, +215
Texans: -6, -250
Total: 54.5
Injury report
Jaguars
Questionable: DE Josh Allen (knee), DT Daniel Ekuale (ankle), CB C.J. Henderson (shoulder), LB Myles Jack (ankle)
Texans
Questionable: TE Jordan Akins (ankle, concussion), CB Keion Crossen (hamstring), RB Buddy Howell (hamstring), LB Peter Kalambayi (hamstring), LB Benardrick McKinney (shoulder)
Fantasy football start/sit advice
Jaguars
James Robinson, RB, $6,700
Robinson is a safe start. He’s totaled 90 or more yards in all four weeks of the season. He’s also shown some great upside, such as in Week 3 when he rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown. The Texans are the worst team in the league at stopping the run, surrendering 4.9 yards per carry, so there should be no reservations about starting Robinson this week.
Gardner Minshew, QB, $6,200
Minshew has put together a pretty solid year, ranking fifth in the league in passing yards and tied for eighth in touchdown passes. This is an opportune time to start him, as the Texans offer little resistance through the air as the only team in the NFL without an interception.
Texans
Deshaun Watson, QB, $6,900
It’s hard to blame Watson for Houston’s 0-4 start as he’s put up a 98.2 QB rating despite being the most sacked quarterback in the league. The Jaguars only have four sacks all season, so this could be a rare case where Watson actually has time to make plays. If so, expect Houston to put up points. Jacksonville has given up 30 or more points in three of its first four games.
Will Fuller, WR, $6,600
Now that Deandre Hopkins is gone, Fuller is expected to take on a bigger role for the Texans and he’s been very productive, aside from Week 2 when he posted a goose egg. If you take out that game, he’s averaging roughly 91 receiving yards per game and has found the end zone twice. We know Jacksonville’s defense has struggled, so look for Fuller to have another nice day.