Bill Jones: Texans Have To Protect Deshaun Watson, Should Beat Jags Handily
Houston, TX (CBS Dallas)- The Houston Texans suffered a painful loss in Week 1 at the hands of the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, when Will Lutz booted a 58-yard-field goal as time wound down.
Now, entering Week 2, the Texans welcome a division rival to NRG Stadium, when the Jacksonville Jaguars come to town. The Jaguars had some problems of their own in Week 1, losing starting quarterback Nick Foles to a broken clavicle early in their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. That forced backup quarterback Gardner Minshew to enter the fray, and he acquitted himself pretty well, going 22/25 for 287 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Minshew will get his first start on Sunday against the Texans, and both teams will be looking to avoid the dreaded 0-2 hole. To get some insight into the game, we asked CBS 11 sports anchor Bill Jones for his thoughts on the matchup.
"The Texans, especially after that loss in New Orleans and playing at home, I think the Texans will win pretty handily in that game over the Jags this week," said Jones. "Deshaun Watson, if he is not already a superstar, he is a superstar in the making with what you saw in that last minute in New Orleans. He has got maybe the best wide receiver in football in DeAndre Hopkins. And Kenny Stills, who had the go-ahead touchdown against the Saints in the final minute of that game, I think he is a great addition. They have to protect Deshaun, he got sacked six times."
The protection will be key against a Jaguars defense that features the combination of Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue on the edges. The Jags didn't pick up a sack last week against the Chiefs, and they only hit Mahomes four times according to NFL.com's stats. However, the Texans line had trouble in Week 1 with Cam Jordan and will need to prove that they can slow down the Jags front in order to try and pick apart the secondary in the same way the Chiefs did.
As of this writing, the oddsmakers see the Texans as a nine-point favorite over the Jags. The Texans and Jaguars meet on CBS with kickoff set for 12:00 p.m. Central Time.