Everyone's Fading the Jaguars in Week 3 Matchup with Texans

The Jacksonville Jaguars' upcoming clash against the Houston Texans is a highly intriguing matchup. Neither team has lived up to expectations so far. The Jaguars are sitting comfortably at 1-1, but they should easily have been 2-0 if they could have avoided some costly mistakes and missed opportunities in their Week 2 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Meanwhile, the Texans come into this game winless. They've had some gaping holes exposed in their first two losses, namely their abysmal offensive line play for the second season in a row and their severe lack of a running game. Jacksonville will be looking to get back on track with another home win, while Houston will be desperately trying to avoid a historically damning 0-3 start.

This divisional battle should be very telling for both teams and the future of the AFC South. Each squad has a lot of question marks that they still need to answer while trying to further uncover their opponent's apparent weaknesses. Will the Jaguars assert themselves as contenders? Or will the Texans get their first win against Jacksonville?

Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, NFL, Brian Thomas Jr., C.J. Stroud — Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7), left, talks with Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) after the game of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Texans held off the Jaguars 23-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaguars highly doubted against Texans

Looking around the league at the perception coming into this game, one would be surprised to find out that the Jacksonville Jaguars are actually betting favorites against the Houston Texans. FanDuel has them favored by 1.5 points, listed at -130 on the moneyline, although the odds suggest that they're leaning toward the Jags simply due to them playing at home.

This game is essentially a toss-up. NFL.com's panel of editors is pretty comfortable picking the Texans, though, as four out of five members went with Houston, with an average margin of victory of two points. Dan Parr predicted that the Jaguars would lose, 21-20:

"Home-field advantage apparently does not exist when the Jaguars host the Texans. Houston has won 10 of its last 11 in Jacksonville, including each of the last seven. Seems cruel to the good people of Duval. Aside from that hard-to-ignore pattern, the Texans nearly beat a very good Bucs team in Week 2, while the Jaguars blew a lead to the Bengals on a day when Joe Burrow only played for the first three drives."

Here’s what they think about you, Duval!!! 🤬🏈 pic.twitter.com/IgR8aul9du
— Leon Searcy Jr (@LeonSearcyJr1) September 19, 2025

"If the reigning AFC South champions are going to avoid the dreaded 0-3 start, DeMeco Ryans' run defense must be better, while C.J. Stroud will have to be more precise. At this point, I have more trust in Ryans to cure what ails his team than I do in Liam Coen as he navigates his first season as a head coach. If Trevor Lawrence doesn't take care of the ball for the second week in a row, the Texans could pull away, but a narrow victory -- for one side or the other -- seems more likely. I just view Houston as the tougher squad right now."

Can the Jaguars prove Parr and the rest of their doubters wrong?

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