The crystal ball is awfully cloudy this week, and the spirits aren't returning my calls. As is the case all too often with your Houston Texans, I have absolutely no clue what's going to happen this week. Any given Sunday and all that, but the Texans' defense is still the Texans' defense, a certainty on par with death and taxes. Before we get any more depressed, my best guesses after the jump.
1. Jacksonville is giving up 119.1 rushing yards per game, which currently ranks them 22nd in the league against the run. Jacksonville has also given up 11 rushing TDs, ranking them second-worst in the league in that category. Arian Foster is currently averaging 5.5 yards per carry and has 9 rushing touchdowns in 8 games. I'm no offensive mastermind, but it seems like it'd be a good idea to feed Foster the ball. If Kubiak and Dennison don't try to get too cute (admittedly, a sizable assumption), Arian Foster will rush for 125 yards and 2 TDs.
2. Last week's half-sack aside, Mario Williams has been quiet lately. Eugene Monroe has been solid for Jacksonville, but Super Mario will get the better of him tomorrow. One sack and two QB hurries for the first overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft on Sunday.
3. David Garrard will turn the ball over once. He will also throw for 3 TDs. Marcedes Lewis will catch one of those TDs. Bernard Pollard will yell about it, despite Lewis being his responsibility. Frank Bush will praise Pollard's intensity between guffaws. I will mainline bleach.
PUT YOUR NAME ON IT: The Texans are 2-1 on the road this season, but they've also lost two in a row and three of their last four. They've never given up less than 24 points to an opponent this season, and they've given up 30 points or more in three of the last four games (with the exception being last week, when the Chargers scored 29 points). If the Texans are going to win, it's probably going to require scoring more than 30 points. Much as I'd like to be wrong, I don't see it happening. Texans 27, Jaguars 31.
Texans vs Jaguars coverage