Jaguars Defensive Keys Vs. Texans Remain the Same; Stop Watson, Stop the Run

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to the Houston Texans the first time around, but the keys for the defense to stop Deshaun Watson and crew remain much the same. Now it's about executing.

As the Jacksonville Jaguars begin work on the back half of their 2020 games, divisional opponents are circling back to the schedule. The Houston Texans will come to town this weekend and the Jaguars will have an opportunity to even the series for the year after Deshaun Watson and the Texans defeated Jacksonville 30-14 in Week 5.

Many of the same defensive keys that were in play a month ago still apply, and if the Jaguars want to find their second win of the season it will take building off of these three defensive keys.

Build Off Run Defense

In the Week 5 matchup, the Texans notched 129 rushing yards, with 29 of them coming on the second to last play of the game. The Jaguars, who are 28th in the NFL, giving up an average of 142.6 rushing yards per game, feel they did a better job versus the Texans and that’s something off which they can build. It should be noted, the 129 yards versus the Jaguars was the Texans' best rushing performance of the season. Aside from that game, Houston is averaging 77.5 yards per game on the ground.

Defensive end Josh Allen was injured and didn’t get to play the first time around but what he saw gives him confidence in the first key of Sunday’s game plan.

"We stopped the run pretty well. They didn’t have a lot of rushing yards until the last couple plays of the game, so we’re real confident about what we can do in the run game. We just have to play with confidence and now we just have to make plays in the backend and just get to the quarterback every play. Then I feel like if we do that consistently, I feel like we’ll dominate this game upfront.”

Get Sidney Jones IV Back

Corner Sidney Jones IV has flourished since joining the Jaguars this offseason and taking the field against the Cincinnati Bengals. Versus the Texans in early October, Jones notched one interception and helped create another for safety Jarrod Wilson.

Jones has been limited in practice this week with a rib injury he suffered during the Los Angeles Chargers game. If he and his production can return, Allen feels optimistic about the defense's chances against Houston.

First pick as a Jaguar for @SidneyJonesIV

📺: CBS | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/Bwi1LGbdah

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 11, 2020

“It’s definitely been huge for us with all the injuries that we’ve had here for him to come out and just produce like that against Houston. I know he got hurt when we played the Chargers. I saw him back out there today and he looks really good and I’m excited to play with him again and hopefully, he has another big game like he did a couple weeks ago.”

Bring Pressure on 3rd Down

The most contentious point with the Jaguars defense through the first few weeks was the glaringly obvious lack of a pass rush, creating easy first downs for the opponents. In total, the Jaguars' defense has given up a 43.37% conversion rate on the money down. But the last three games (Houston, Detroit Lions and the Chargers), Todd Wash’s crew has held teams to 38.89% on 3rd downs, 13th in the league during that time.

"I think we’ve done a [much] better job of getting them on third-and-7 plus, which allows our defensive line, obviously, to pin their ears back,” remarked Wash.

“It’s not a 50-50 down for them. And then we’ve also been bringing a little bit more pressure that statistically has shown, not only on just first and second downs, run-stopping pressures Then on third down we’re bringing a little bit more pressure. But I think a lot of it has to do with just getting those guys in third-and-7 plus situations.”

Bonus: Stop Deshaun Watson

This is a given any time any team faces the Houston Texans. Watson can tear a team apart, evidenced by his 2,000 plus passing yards and his status as the second-leading rusher on the team.

“Let’s think about it, put yourself on the defensive side and you put your hands in the dirt and you’re going to rush the quarterback,” contemplates Marrone, explaining the difficulty of defending Watson.

"You’re giving everything you have to try to get to that quarterback and one little slip, one little ‘can’t protect the gap’, he can extend the play. He’s shown that he’s strong enough to kind of shrug guys off too, spin out of guys and do that, so he has the ability from a quarterback position to not only deliver the ball in the pocket, but to extend plays and get on the perimeter and run.

“Then I think when you go into the run game aspect of it, he’s a guy that can pull the football and run, so he’s a threat as a runner in a running game system. You’re looking at someone that has a high level of confidence, has a really good arm, can throw it deep, short, has good accuracy, plus he can run, so there’s a lot of things that you have to be able to defend to try to stop him.”