Do not underestimate the Jacksonville Jaguars. Though 4-4 and Jalen Ramsey-less, Jacksonville stands as a tough test for the 5-3 Houston Texans for Sunday’s game at Wembley Stadium in London.
The Jaguars are coming off of back-to-back wins. A large part of their mini-win-streak stems from the youth movements. Three baby Jaguars, in particular, have been lights out in 2019 and could very well hurt the Texans on Sunday.
1. WR D.J. Chark
From punt team gunner to the No. 1 target in the NFL’s 10th best offense, D.J. Chark’s meteoric rise from his rookie to sophomore year is just surprising as it is worrying for an injury-riddled Texans defense.
A 6-3, long-strider with a 4.38-second 40-time in the books, Chark has scorched defenses all-season long as a deep-threat. Quarterback Gardner Minshew has taken advantage of that, feeding him the fourth-most deep-ball targets in the NFL (15), per Player Profiler.
“Really good size, excellent speed… He’s going to be a real challenging guy to cover,” said coach Bill O’Brien on Chark on Wednesday.
However, he’s much more than a lanky speed merchant with a penchant for finding deep balls. On the year, he has 39 receptions for 660 yards and a league-leading six touchdowns. A fair amount of his production has come from well-run broad route-tree — sixth in the NFL in yards per pass route, per Player Profiler.
Chark didn’t toast the Texans defense in Week 2, but he did record a touchdown. The difference between now and then: health, the Texans’ secondary is down two starters.
2. OLB Josh Allen
As the weeks go bye, rookie outside linebacker Josh Allen continues to look like one of the most impactful steals of the 2019 NFL Draft. At the halfway point of the season — with eight games and seven starts under his belt — Allen leads the Jaguars in sacks (seven).
A quick-twitch athlete with an array of pass-rush moves and fiesty demeanor, Allen is a force (and a flash) to deal with on the edge. Despite playing limited snaps on the year, he is 15th in the NFL in QB hits (12), eighth in tackles for loss (eight) and seventh in sacks (seven). According to Pro Football Focus, he also has 26 pressures on the season.
Allen is already a force in the NFL, but the Texans won’t be able to double cover him much on Sunday. It just so happens to be that he’s surrounded by Pro Bowl pass-rushers in Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell. To top it off, 2018 first-round lineman Taven Bryan is coming into his own.
Houston must account for Allen while also finding a way to block his teammates. Though quarterback Deshaun Watson is as slippery as they come, Allen is one of the few defenders in the NFL with the sheer athleticism to keep up and make whoever plays tackle look bad.
3. QB Gardner Minshew
The Jaguars waited to unleash Minshew until about the fourth quarter of Houston’s win over Jacksonville in Week 2. If not for a failed two-point conversion, he could’ve won the thing. The Jaguars won’t make the same mistake twice.
Instead of beating around the bush with his talents on Sunday by going ground-and-back, expect the Jaguars to let Minshew do what he does best. What does he do best? Anticipatory deep-ball throwing, game-managing when he needs to and — like No. 4 wearing red and blue — performing magical, improvised plays to perfection
“I mean, for a guy to come in there in his first year and do what he’s done, he’s got a really good completion percentage, he’s a playmaker, he’s got really good poise, he has a lot of fun playing,” said coach O’Brien on Wednesday.
Minshew isn’t a little-known sixth-round rookie from Washington State anymore. Nor is he just a novelty for his southern bravado and mustache. He is a legitimate Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate who has thrown 13 touchdowns to two interceptions. The Texans need to be on full-notice.
