A pair of AFC South teams do battle on the gridiron down in the Lone Star State in search of a victory here in week 17 of the NFL season. The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the road as they make the trip to face the Houston Texans Sunday afternoon. Jacksonville comes in off a 19-3 road win over the Jets last Thursday in their previous game, winning outright as a 2.5-point underdog. Houston upended Tennessee 19-14 on the road, winning outright as a three-point underdog last Sunday in their previous contest. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Texans own a 28-13 advantage and have won the last nine meetings. That includes a 13-6 road triumph in the first meeting this season back on October 9, 2022.
I just won $14,619 in parlay tickets in the month of November. Don't miss out on another big payday! Click here to get a month of my parlays for only $50 (normally $100)!
Jacksonville’s defense did the job as they stifled the Jets to earn a third straight win last Thursday in their previous contest. The Jaguars moved into the top spot in the AFC South with a 7-8 record: they are tied with the Titans but own the head-to-head tiebreaker heading into their week 18 showdown. Against the Jets, Jacksonville took the lead for good on Trevor Lawrence’s one-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter and the defense did the rest, shutting the Jets down. The Jaguars owned a 365-227 edge in total offense, won the first down battle 19-10 and controlled the clock by a 34:52 to 25:08 margin. For good measure, Jacksonville forced a pair of turnovers while committing just one in the victory.
On the season, Jacksonville is 10th in the league in passing offense with 239.2 yards per contest and 11th in rushing offense with 128.5 yards per game. Th e Jaguars are 11th in the league in scoring offense as they average 23.5 points per contest and stand 15th in scoring defense by allowing 22.1 points per contest. Trevor Lawrence has completed 350 of 531 passes for 3,749 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions on the year. He adds 290 yards plus a score on the ground. The departed James Robinson is second on the team in rushing with 81 carries for 340 yards plus three scores this season but he’s on the Jets now. Travis Etienne Jr. contributes a team-leading 204 carries for 1,000 yards and four scores on the ground. In the passing game, Zay Jones is second on the team with 75 receptions for 778 yards plus five scores. Christian Kirk (team-high 76 grabs, 988 yards, seven TD), Marvin Jones Jr. (38 receptions, 439 yards, three TD), Etienne Jr. (30 receptions, 267 yards) and tight end Evan Engram (68 catches, 723 yards, four TD) have been solid secondary options. Riley Patterson has hit 30 of 31 extr a point attempts and 27 of 32 field goal attempts with a long of 52 this season.
It was a relatively light injury report for the Jaguars when it first came out Wednesday afternoon. Lawrence (toe) and long snapper Ross Matiscik (back) were the only two players not to practice. Defensive back Andrew Wingard (shoulder), guard Brandon Scherff (abdomen/ankle), linebacker Travon Walker (ankle) and defensive end Foley Fatukasi (ankle) were each limited in practice. Keep an eye out for updates on these guys as the week progresses.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!