Who has a worse future: The Houston Texans or Jacksonville Jaguars?

Can the Houston Texans or Jacksonville Jaguars end 2021 on a good note?

For Houston, the troubles started when Deshaun Watson grew frustrated with the hiring of Nick Caserio and David Culley. If having a disgruntled franchise quarterback wasn’t bad enough, the sexual assault and misconduct allegations that came next were the gasoline to the fire.

For Jacksonville, hiring Urban Meyer was a questionable move at best. Instead, the hiring and then firing of former Iowa Strength and Conditioning coach Chris Doyle is what set the Jaguars’ season ablaze with impending doom and controversy. On top of that, a torn ACL for first-round selection, Travis Etienne, doomed the offense even more.

When it comes to team ranks, there are some exciting results:

• Houston ranks:
  • 32nd in rushing defense (dead last with 1,923 yards allowed)
  • 17th in passing defense
  • 31st in passing offense
  • 32nd in rushing offense

The Houston Texans have been historically bad when it comes to scoring points this year, having just scored a handful of more points than the 2000 Cleveland Browns, who were in reboot mode after coming back to Cleveland one year prior.

Houston’s 1,008 yards rushing this year are the worst by any team since 2000 as well. Laremy Tunsil and the other plethora of injuries to the offensive line put another win for Houston in jeopardy.

Jacksonville is only doing slightly better in all categories than Houston

• Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s rankings are:
  • 21st in rushing defense
  • 16th in passing defense
  • 28th in passing offense
  • 23rd in rushing offense

Having Lawrence as your quarterback instead of the likes of Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills, and Deshaun Watson (who will ride the bench for the entire year) will make your offense instantly better. Just imagine if this team never lost Etienne during the preseason. Lawrence’s ability to extend plays has probably helped this number, as well as garbage-time yards when games were already decided.

So which team will finish 2021 better than the other?

The answer: Jacksonville.

Houston faces a gauntlet of playing the Chargers, 49ers, and the Titans. At the same time, Jacksonville gets to play the Jets, Patriots, and the Colts. As a result, the Jaguars could very well win their next two games and possibly take themselves out of the top five.

All stats are taken from Pro Football Reference.