The Houston Texans fought hard against the Jacksonville Jaguars and were barely able to score enough points to close out their opponent in the fourth quarter. The game was deadlocked at a six-point tie for the majority of regulation, and both defenses showed great proficiency in their classic “bend-don’t-break” strategies.
In such a tightly contested matchup, the Texans managed to play competently in all four quarters for one of the first times this season. Their anemic offense still needs work, but with defensive rookies Derek Stingley Jr. and Jalen Pitre coming into their own on the other side of the ball, Houston could soon find themselves in a position to eke out a few more victories against opponents that underestimate the team’s potential.
Here are our key takeaways from the Houstons’ win in Jacksonville:
Final score: Texans 13, Jaguars 6
It took precision and execution for the Texans to close this game out, and the outcome could have been drastically different if their preparation for the Jaguars was less than stellar. They knew exactly how to exploit quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s weaknesses, and played stout enough defense against the run to keep Jacksonville from dominating them on the ground.
Some luck was involved on their touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, with a penalty by the Jaguars’ first-overall pick Travon Walker, but Houston was able to close out the drive with some help from rookie running back Dameon Pierce. Though many fans prefer high-scoring affairs, this outing by the Texans was as fun as they come for football connoisseurs who value defense and grit.
Dameon Pierce continues early season run of excellence
Running back Dameon Pierce has been one of the Texans’ most promising draft picks in 2022, and their most steady contributor on offense through five games. He has had a heavy workload and continues to churn out yards on the ground at an impressive rate, providing more than a third of their total offensive production between his rushes and receptions.
Without his consistent excellence, Houston wouldn’t have been able to keep this game interesting, let alone win. Pierce scored the team’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter and proved that he can help the Texans’ offense even without the benefit of excellent quarterback play.
Jalen Pitre led defense in tackles
The play of their rookies has been the Texans’ only saving grace so far this season, and Jalen Pitre might be the best of the bunch. The early-round pick out of Baylor had put up some impressive stat lines through four games, and continued the trend with a nine-tackle effort against Jacksonville that saw him play effective coverage against the Jaguars’ talented receivers as well.
Houstons’ coaching staff can start to lean on Pitre a bit more in the coming weeks as they look to build on this crucial first win, and find ways to further utilize his diverse skillset within their defensive schemes.
Texans offense was totally ineffective against Jacksonville
Dameon Pierce aside, this performance from the Texans’ offense was hard to watch. Davis Mills completed a paltry 16 passes for 140 yards, and was unable to find the end zone through the air. 2021 third-round pick Nico Collins led the team in receiving, having caught four of those attempts for 65 yards.
Uninspiring as it may have been, though, the offense did technically find a way to do barely enough to get Houston over the hump. They’ll look to rely on Pierce more and more over the coming weeks, riding the hot hand for as long as possible in an effort to get more scoring production out of the offense.
Derek Stingley recorded first career interception
Third-overall pick Derek Stingley came down with the first interception of his young career for the Texans in this matchup and should be able to grab more throughout the season. He covered the Jaguars’ capable receivers with authority all day and was a key figure in Houston’s defense of Jacksonville’s air attack.
Along with the aforementioned Pitre, Stingley will be one of the most important prospects for the Texans moving forward and the duo should develop into cornerstones of the franchise for years to come.
