National Football League
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Houston at Jacksonville
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 1, 2024
Where: EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

A week after a demoralizing loss to the Tennessee Titans, the AFC South-leading Houston Texans might have a perfect opportunity to reboot when they face the host Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Then again, maybe not.

It depends, Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said, if the Texans (7-5) are "locked in" and able to make a December push.

"I just look at it as being intensely focused on your job and being where you're supposed to be, executing the minor details of your job," Ryans said. "It all comes down to minor, minute details that you get exploited if you don't do them the correct way and teams find those and they make you pay.

"And a lot of the things, as I talked to our guys about, are things that we can control."

Jacksonville (2-9), sitting at the bottom of the AFC South, is coming off a humiliating 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions. It marked the fourth straight setback for the Jaguars, who had dropped their previous three games by a combined 13 points.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson noted that changes are coming, although he opted not to show his cards.

"I'm not going to get into the whole details of things, but there are things in the run game that we have to get back to," Pederson said. "Even in the passing game, tweaking some things there. There are things that can, hopefully, help our production over the last six weeks."

One of those changes is the return of starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who has not played since Nov. 3 due to a left shoulder injury. Doug Pederson confirmed Friday that Lawrence will be the QB1 despite being listed as questionable after being limited in practice all week.

Pederson has also had his eye on Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has run into some struggles during his sophomore season.

Stroud has thrown nine interceptions in 12 games (all starts) after throwing only five as a rookie. He was picked off twice in the 32-27 setback against Tennessee, also throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns on 20-for-33 passing.

Pederson still believes the 23-year-old can hurt the Jaguars, though.

"Playing the quarterback position is hard," Pederson said. "I don't know everything that goes on down there. I'm sure there's been injury, guys have missed (time). He's missed his playmakers from time to time. And then there's the film. There's the film out there."

The Texans have lost three of their past four games and four of their past six as defenses continue to solve Stroud.

For the Texans, safety Jalen Pitre is expected to miss several weeks because of a shoulder injury. Defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi (foot) will sit out Sunday's game after not practicing all week, but defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) and Denico Autry (knee) were among those who returned to full practice Friday and will play on Sunday.

Jaguars linebacker Yasir Abdullah (hamstring) did not practice all week and won't play Sunday. Cornerback Tyson Campbell (shoulder) was limited in practice all week but doesn't have an injury designation.

Sunday marks the second meeting of the season between the teams. The Texans topped Jacksonville 24-20 back on Sept. 29.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W‑L Strk PF PA Home Away Grass Turf OT Div Conf
Houston 7-5 L1 23.8 22.3 4-2 3-3 0-1 0-0 - - 5-2
Jacksonville 2-9 L4 18.9 28.7 2-3 0-6 2-5 0-2 - - 2-4
Last Meeting
Houston Jacksonville
Date Away Home Tot Rus Pas Tot Rus Pas
9/29/24 JAC 20 HOU 24 435 101 334 313 158 155
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Houston C. Stroud 67.5 345 2 0
Jacksonville T. Lawrence 54.5 169 2 0
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Houston C. Akers 13 53 4.1 0
Jacksonville T. Bigsby 7 90 12.9 0
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Houston N. Collins 12 151 12.6 1
Jacksonville B. Thomas Jr. 6 86 14.3 1
Touchdowns Player TD
Houston N. Collins 1
Jacksonville C. Kirk 1
Season
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Houston C. Stroud 63.1 2875 14 9
Jacksonville T. Lawrence 61.3 2004 11 6
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Houston J. Mixon 185 786 4.2 10
Jacksonville T. Bigsby 95 519 5.5 4
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Houston N. Collins 41 713 17.4 4
Jacksonville B. Thomas Jr. 42 689 16.4 5
Touchdowns Player TD
Houston J. Mixon 11
Jacksonville B. Thomas Jr. 5