Jaguars vs. Texans: Dameon Pierce Provides Next Challenge For Jacksonville's Run Defense
Life in the NFL means constant adjustment. From game to game, there are new and unique challenges that every team has to prepare and adjust for, with each game looking vastly different than the last.
Such is the case for the Jaguars in Week 5. A week after traveling to play the NFL's only undefeated team in the rain, the Jaguars are set to host the NFL's only winless team at home in the form of AFC South rival Houston Texans.
The differences between the Texans and the Eagles team the Jaguars played last week are vast, especially on offense. The Eagles are led by a plethora of weapons along the offensive line and skill groups, but also by one of the most mobile quarterbacks in football today with Jalen Hurts.
The Texans, meanwhile, are a young and developing team. They have offensive weapons who can hurt a team, such as wide receiver Brandin Cooks and rookie running back Dameon Pierce, while offensive linemen Laremy Tunsil and Kenyon Green give Houston enough players to win a game.
Houston quarterback Davis Mills is not Hurts, though. While Hurts creates an extra dimension for defenses to account for due to his legs, Mills does not. He has zero rushing yards on four carries with a long run of two yards this year, meaning the Jaguars' lone rushing focus comes down to limiting Pierce.
“Yeah, I mean he was somebody we liked in the draft. That’s what you see. He’s a load," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said about Pierce on Wednesday.
Pierce has been one of the most productive rookies in the 2022 class so far, leading the Houston rushing attack and, as Texans head coach Lovie Smith said on Wednesday, sets the tone for their entire offense.
Through four games, Pierce has rushed for 313 yards (5.2 yards per attempt) for two touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown in a 131-yard effort against the Chargers in Week 4. He is 10th among all running backs in first downs, fifth in yards after contact per attempt and fifth in broken tackles and carries per broken tackle according to Pro Football Reference.
In short, Pierce has been everything the Houston's needed at running back and more. And now, he is the next challenge the Jaguars' defense has to gear up for.
"He’s only 5’9”, about 218, but he’s thick and he’s solid. He had a nice 75-yard run last week," Pederson said. "He’s capable of doing that, it’s got to be all-hands-on-deck to get him on the ground. That’s our division though, this is a run division and we’ve got some great running backs that we’ve got to take care of.”
With Houston 10th in both rushing EPA per play and rushing success rate, they offer a gut-check for a Jaguars run defense that dominated for three weeks before crumbling against the Eagles last week.
The Eagles' offensive line paved the way for Hurts, Miles Sanders and the rest of the Eagles' core to rush 50 times (most by an opponent in Jaguars' history) for four touchdowns (most rushing touchdowns by an opponent in Jaguars' history) and 210 yards (11th most by an opponent in Jaguars' history). In short, the Jaguars were hit by a battering ram and fell apart at their foundation.
Can the Jaguars avoid the same fate vs. Pierce and the Texans? Will the lack of a rushing threat at quarterback play a factor? These are the questions Jacksonville has to weigh on defense ahead of their most important game of 2022 thus far.
"There were things there that we need to fix. A little bit of the Washington deal, kind of raised its head a little bit. All fixable, all correctable, all teachable," Pederson said. "That’s going to be the focus this week, to stay disciplined. This is a good running team. We got to make sure we stay disciplined in those run lanes.”
Not only is the Texans' rushing attack the most potent part of Houston's offense, but it also gives a foreshadow for the Jaguars of what is to come in the AFC South. With another game against Houston, another against Jonathan Taylor and the Colts, and two games against Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans, run defense is about to become a very prominent theme in the division race.
“Yeah, it’s a really good competitive division. I think the faster teams can start in the division, whether it was me back in the NFC East or now in the AFC South," Pederson said.
"Obviously, an opportunity to get to the postseason is to be able to handle your division games. It’s another opportunity for our team to take it another step forward, to grow as a team, but to also understand that this is a good football team coming in here. It’s going to take a really good week of preparation and practice to get that done.”
