JACKSONVILLE
Jadeveon Clowney Jersey , Fla. (AP) — Of all the things that went right for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017, turnovers were at the top of the list.The Jaguars took care of the ball, especially in the postseason, and ranked second in the league with 33 takeaways. They finished the regular season at plus-10 in turnover margin, tied for fifth in the NFL.They’re nowhere close to that these days.The Jaguars (3-3) have been careless with the football through six games and have done considerably less to create fumbles and interceptions.The result: Jacksonville sits next to last in turnover margin, a minus-9 ratio that was a key part of consecutive blowout road losses to Kansas City and Dallas.Finding a way to end the trend Sunday against Houston (3-3) could be the difference between first place in the AFC South and a three-game losing streak.“We’re definitely not helping ourselves out by any means,” quarterback Blake Bortles said. “We are getting unlucky. Not only are we not helping ourselves, but we are also getting some bad bounces, and that is part of it.“We will start creating our own good fortune, and I think with that we will start getting some breaks and some bounces will go our way as well.”The Jaguars could use some better fortune, especially since they are without their top two left tackles, their top two tight ends, two of their top three running backs and their leading receiver from a year ago. The rash of injuries has hampered the offense so much that it failed to score in the first half of the past two games.And the usually stout defense has done little
Johnathan Joseph Jersey , if anything, to pick up the slack. The unit allowed a combined 802 yards, 63 points and 49 first downs against the Chiefs and Cowboys.“We haven’t lost our confidence,” defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. “I think it’s a reality check. We understand who we are. We know who we are. I think a lot of us are leaning on the accolades.“We want to be Pro Bowlers. We have to be All-Pros. We want to be this, but we have to understand that we just have to play like we did last year, just stay carefree, and the less you care about your accolades off the field, the more we’ll win as a team.”The Texans have won three in a row in dramatic fashion. They won twice in overtime and beat Buffalo last week thanks to Johnathan Joseph’s interception return for a touchdown in the waning minutes.Houston hasn’t won four in a row since 2015.Beating Jacksonville could come down to how well Houston’s offensive line plays. The Texans allowed 14 sacks in two lopsided losses to the Jaguars last season and have allowed 25 in six games this season, the second-most in the league.Quarterback Deshaun Watson played last week with a partially collapsed lung and a broken rib.“I’m fine now. I’m healthy,” he said. “I’m cleared to practice, cleared to do everything. I’m good.”Bortles should be wary, too. He has been sacked eight times in the past two games while playing behind an injury-riddled line. And now the Jaguars have to deal with J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney.Equally concerning are the team’s 14 turnovers and five takeaways.“It has not been what we wanted or what we expected or planned for,” Bortles said. “Everybody knows that. You learn from it
Whitney Mercilus Jersey , you put it in the past and you move on. You have to find a way to get back on track and get back to playing like we did against the Jets or against New England or late last year. That is all we are focusing on: getting back to playing the kind of football and the execution level that we know we can do.”Here are some other things to know about the Texans and Jaguars:BACK TO BASICSJaguars coach Doug Marrone focused on fundamentals in practice all week, with several players saying they essentially returned to training camp mode in Week 7. Some might consider it a desperation move, but Marrone defended his decision to go back to square one.“Anytime you see football being played as poorly as we have been playing, then it comes down to fundamentals,” he said. “That is my philosophy.”HAL RETURNSTexans safety Andre Hal, who is in remission after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, resumed practicing this week. He won’t play against the Jaguars, but gave the team an emotional lift this week. Hal was diagnosed with the disease in May and immediately began treatment.“I’m in the best shape of my life just from working out all the time, eating right, getting closer to God, getting closer to myself, finding out who I am, stuff like that
Justin Reid Jersey ,” Hal said. “I’m a better person.”PASSING LEAGUEWatson and Bortles have three games each with at least 375 yards passing this season. The Houston Texans finally played a team that can throw the ball competently. The Indianapolis Colts also happened to be the last team Houston played that could do this. That Colts team also hadn’t settled on an offensive line, lost a fumble in the end zone, had Andrew Luck strip-sacked by J.J. Watt that became an offensive touchdown, lost T.Y. Hilton in the third quarter, and still managed to lose 37-34 in overtime, after an absurd Frank Reich fourth down decision. This time, things were different. The Colts threw the ball downfield, as Andrew Luck found T.Y. Hilton, Eric Ebron, and Zach Pascal. Luck had 399 passing yards and averaged 9.7 yards an attempt. Hilton had 9 catches for 199 yards. Ebron had 4 catches for 65 yards. Pascal had 5 catches for 68 yards. The Colts’ offensive line allowed pressure, but Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and the rest had trouble bringing the big boy down. When the Colts threw the ball, they were unstoppable. Luckily for Houston
Martinas Rankin Jersey , Frank Reich ran the ball at silly times and put Indy in longer third downs. The Colts picked up only 2.6 yards a carry. It all came down to 3rd and 1 with two inutes left. The Colts came out in a heavy offensive formation, alluding to a run play, and Luck was able to pull Clowney off the line to give the Colts a first down, sealing this game shut. The Texans almost came back after being down ten late. Deshaun Watson led a touchdown drive at the end of the fourth and found DeAndre Hopkins in the back of the end zone to make it 24-21. Overall, Houston’s offense was fine; it just wasn’t good enough to get past the 21 point mark, a mark that had been enough in the previous nine games. The Texans were up against a defense that’s good, that no one realizes is actually good. The run game struggled. Watson had trouble finding anyone open. The Colts’ weak side defensive back blitzes were diabolical and kept Watson in the pocket. This game isn’t the end of the world. That orange orb will be up tomorrow. This marble will keep spinning. The Texans are still favorites to win the AFC South. The problem is that this team is going to be in the NFL Playoffs. In the playoffs, they’ll have to play even better passing offenses. The Chargers, Steelers, Patriots, and Chiefs can all throw it better than Indy can. That will be another day. Next week, the Texans play the Jets on Saturday December 15th at 3:30 CST.