The new-look 2021 Houston Texans will be hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars to start the new season in what is sure to be an interesting AFC South matchup to begin the David Culley era as a head coach.
Houston not only has a new head coach in Culley, but they are currently in an uncertain situation at quarterback with all of the off-the-field issues concerning Deshaun Watson, plus remember he did asked to be traded from the franchise.
There is newness with the Jacksonville Jaguars as well, as they too have a new head coach, that being Urban Meyer, and they have 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick, and quarterback, Trevor Lawrence as their possible new starting quarterback.
This Week 1 game between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars shouldn’t resemble any game we’ve all watched in recent memory as there will be different players at quarterback for both teams compared to last season. We most likely won’t be watching Gardner Minshew for the Jaguars or Watson for the Texans under center in this Week 1 season opener.
The quarterback matchup we all should expect to see is Tyrod Taylor for the Texans and Lawrence in his NFL debut for the Jaguars which should be fun to watch.
Houston Texans lead recent history vs. Jacksonville
Being rivals in the AFC South, the Houston Texans lead the all-time series between the two teams at 25-13, with the Texans winning the past six meetings, including the 2020 season where the Texans won by scores of 30-14 and 27-25.
Again, the story for this Week 1 season-opening at NRG Stadium in Houston is new starts for two franchises that combined for just five wins last season. In ’20 the Texans were the third worst team in the entire NFL with a 4-12 overall record, while the Jaguars were 1-15 overall, making them the worst team in the NFL.
Though being the worst team in the league allowed Jacksonville to hire Meyer as head coach, and to get the No. 1 pick to select Lawrence, that was just the start to their rebuild to be a respectable franchise once again.
The Houston Texans are in the middle of a rebuild as well, and they are more uncertain at their long-term future at quarterback, and they are coming off a season where their defense was one of the worst in the NFL.
Granted, new Texans general manger Nick Caserio has made many changes to the Houston defensive roster, but there is still a lot of work to be done in the coming weeks and months ahead.
This is a nice way for the Houston Texans to start their 2021 NFL season, but even with facing a rebuilding Jaguars team, no game will be easy for the Texans in ’21.