Houston Texans absolutely show out against Jacksonville Jaguars with big win

[Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
[Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]

The Houston Texans came out of Week 1 with a win Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Houston Texans offense came out with a thud with a three and out. The Texans got the offense moving eventually, with a big pass to Brandin Cooks that led to a Mark Ingram touchdown. The Texans can really move the ball well on the ground, even if it is Jacksonville itself.

This team is way better than everyone expected them to be. Holding a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter is a pretty good start at quieting the haters.

Defensive coordinator Lovie Smith made Trevor Lawrence’s day very hard from the start, creating pressure and at one point the Texans had run 16 plays to Jacksonville’s 3. Adding in two first-half interceptions by Vernon Hargreaves and Justin Reid that led to points was a welcome sight.

Houston Texans won the game on defense against Jacksonville

Smith had this Texans defense causing pressure in the passing game and clogging gaps in the run game. Jacksonville was held to under 100 rushing yards well into the third quarter. The absence of Travis Etienne hurts more now for the Jaguars.

This is arguably the second-most surprising win in the early games, next to Arizona’s slaughtering of the Tennessee Titans. Tyrod Taylor continued to get more comfortable with the offense and it showed. Can the Texans take this momentum and go into Cleveland and give themselves a chance to win?

Going back into the win column next week is going to be a really tough task as the Browns were one of the best teams in the league last season and also had a stellar draft. It’s going to be a sobering game, but if the Texans somehow do win next week then a possible conversation may need to be held as they could be a potential playoff contender.

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