Texans 100: Facts and Figures for Jaguars, No. 26-50

The facts continue as the Houston Texans get ready for their AFC South tilt with the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at noon at NRG Stadium. In this entry, we take a look at coach Bill O’Brien and also rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew.

gardner minshew facts

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26. With a minimum of 20 passes, Minshew’s 122.5 passer rating was the second-best in franchise history for a Jaguars rookie.

27. With a minimum of 20 passes, Minshew’s 122.5 passer rating was the fourth-best in Jaguars history on Opening Day.

28. With a minimum of 20 passes, Minshew’s 122.5 passer rating was the third-best since 1950 for a rookie on Opening Day.

29. Minshew’s relief of Nick Foles was the first significant action a Washington State quarterback had seen on Opening Day as a rookie since Ryan Leaf in 1998.

30. Minshew is one of five Washington State quarterbacks to be taken in the sixth round. One of the other quarterbacks is Mark Rypien, MVP of Super Bowl XXVI

31. Minshew will become the first drafted Washington State quarterback to start a NFL game since Drew Bledsoe on Oct. 23, 2006.

32. A win would make Minshew the first Jaguars rookie quarterback to defeat the Texans in his first try.

33. A win would also join Minshew with Mark Sanchez with the Jets in 2009 and Matt McGloin with the Raiders in 2013 as the only rookie quarterback to get their first career win against the Texans.

34. Minshew won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 2018. The last quarterback to win that award and play on Opening Day of his rookie season was Deshaun Watson.

35. Minshew is the first Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year to play on Opening Day since Marcus Mariota (Oregon) started for the Tennessee Titans in 2015.

bill o’brien facts

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36. A loss would be the third straight year the Texans opened up AFC South play with a loss. The last Texans coach to do that was Gary Kubiak from 2006-08.

37. A loss would also make O’Brien the first Texans coach since Kubiak in 2006-07 to string together two straight seasons of 0-2 starts.

38. O’Brien is 19-12 against the AFC South, including playoffs, with a 10-6 record at home.

39. O’Brien’s 8-2 record against the Jaguars is his best against a divisional opponent, including playoffs:

Jaguars: 8-2

Titans: 7-3

Colts: 4-7

 

40. O’Brien is 4-1 against the Jaguars at home. Here is how that compares to other AFC South opponents, including playoffs:

Titans: 5-0

Jaguars: 4-1

Colts: 1-5

 

41. O’Brien is 27-16 at home, including playoffs.

42. O’Brien is 32-26 in early afternoon games with a 21-9 record at home.

43. When coaching against playoff-winning coaches, O’Brien is 13-27 with a 10-10 record at home.

44. O’Brien is 8-10 in September with a 5-3 record at home.

45. The Texans had nine accepted penalties in Week 1, tied for the ninth-most in the NFL.

46. Houston had a 100% red zone conversion rate, only 1/8 teams in Week 1 to achieve that percentage.

47. The Texans’ 100% red zone conversion rate is up from 50% in 2018, which was tied with the New York Giants for the fifth-worst in the NFL.

48. Houston’s 53.8% third down conversion rate was tied for the seventh-best in the NFL. Last season, Houston was 13th-worst at 37.0%.

49. The Texans’ 28 points were tied with the Minnesota Vikings for the 11th-most in the NFL. In 2018, they were the 11th with 25.1 points per game.

50. O’Brien and Jaguars coach Doug Marrone worked together at Georgia Tech from 1996-99, where they became great friends off the field. O’Brien was a graduate assistant and later coached running backs while Marrone coached tight ends and later the offensive line.