Texans Hope To Rebound After A Tough 29-7 Loss To Jags

HOUSTON, TX — To say that the Houston Texans stunk up NRG stadium on Sunday afternoon is at the very least an understatement.

In fact, the highlight of the afternoon for the Texans was the pregame introductions and events with defensive end J.J. Watt running onto the the field waving the Lone Star flag.(Want to get daily news updates and news of other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

From the very beginning of the first quarter, it was clear the Jacksonville Jaguars — typically the doormat of the AFC South — came to play and the Houston Texans didn’t.

Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette ran at will, amassing just over 100 yards and quarterback Blake Bortles threw for 125 yards to defeat the Texans 29-7 in front of 71,000 shocked Texans fans.

In the course of four quarters, the Texans abysmal offensive line allowed 10 sacks, with quarterback Tim Savage hitting the turf six times, while the Jaguars defense took his replacement Deshaun Watson down four times.

“There’s a long way to go,” Texans Head Coach Bill O’Brien aid at his press conference on Monday. “We have to do more to protect the quarterback...we always try and do what’s best for the team.”

Much of the criticizing was leveled at the play of the offensive line, which has struggled over the last two seasons, and was without veteran left tackle Duane Brown, who is holding on on a contract dispute.

However, the fixes are likely much deeper than the anticipation of Brown’s return, which was evident with the number of substitutions along the line on Sunday.

The defensive front seven, regarded as among the top defensive units in the NFL, looked more like a Pop Warner defense than the highly vaunted unit fans expected.

Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and Whitney Mercilus were all held in check and recorded zero sacks, while linebacker Brian Cushing left in the first half after suffering a concussion.

Cushing, who is in the NFL concussion protocol, will miss the Thursday game at Cincinnati along with tight ends Ryan Griffin and C.J. Fiedorowicz, and receiver Bruce Ellington who also left the game with concussions.

The Texans travel to Cincinnati to plan the Bengals to play on Thursday night.
A LOSING EFFORT: Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson throws a pass in the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

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