The Jacksonville Jaguars will do battle with the Houston Texans in a critical AFC South division showdown in the United Kingdom.
The field will be ripe with supreme matchups. One could argue that both teams are evenly matched on paper and the motivation of defeating a rival opponent only adds fuel to the fire.
The fire could very well fuel a Jaguars’ defense that has been tenacious in recent weeks giving up only 15 points per game in the past three weeks and racking up 13 sacks in that time period.
Here are some key matchups to watch out for on the Jags’ defense, who will look to best a hot Texans offense:
DE Yannick Ngakoue vs. OT Roderick Johnson
While the Jags are dealing with a lot of injuries of their own, the Texans are also battered. The team announced that Laremy Tunsil would be inactive Sunday morning, which made matters even worse being that they would be missing starters in their secondary.
Starting in his place will be Roderick Johnson, who only has two starts over two years and is rated as a 61.7, per Pro Football Focus. By comparison, Tunsil is rated as a 75.7. Needless to say, this could lead for huge opportunities for the Jags’ pass rush, especially Yannick Ngakoue.
In the last game between the Jags and Houston, Ngakoue was sidelined with a hamstring injury, however, the Jags barely lost the matchup as the final score was 13-12. Now, he’s back, and will have a reserve standing before him. When looking at how life was for Deshaun Watson minus Tunsil, it appears this game could get ugly. Given the circumstances, the Jags may be up for another 10 sack game like the one they had in 2017 against the Texans.
CB Tre Herndon vs. WR Kenny Stills
Jaguars cornerback Tre Herndon will take on another tough task as he will draw the matchup with Texans veteran wide receiver Kenny Stills. Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye will shadow Texans star wide receiver and former teammate DeAndre Hopkins on the opposite side.
It has been a tough road for Herndon so far as he only grades at a 51.5 per PFF. Stills, on the other hand, has been very efficient with his receptions catching 18 of them on 24 targets.
The Jaguars will also be without the services of cornerback D.J Hayden, thus creating more pressure on Herndon to cover one of the fastest receivers in the league.
Time will tell if Tre Herndon is up to the task.
CB A.J. Bouye vs. WR DeAndre Hopkins
As stated before, these two were on the same battle lines at one point in time. The two are now rivals.
Former Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey was generally known to cover Hopkins throughout his time in Jacksonville. Bouye will finally get all of the work on Hopkins, which will not be an easy assignment.
Hopkins currently has 60 receptions on 617 receiving yards, however, he’s averaged the lowest yards per reception rate of his career at 10.3.
Bouye is still a solid cornerback grading out at a very solid 69.5 PFF score. However, he will be the main line of defense in a secondary that is depleted and facing one of the best receivers in the league.
