The Houston Texans have their third AFC South matchup of the 2026 season on the horizon for Week 6, as they'll be making the trek overseas to London for a date against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Last year, these two had split their season series 1-1. Jacksonville got the best of this group in Week 3, which sunk them to a brutal 0-3 through three games, while Week 10 back at home marked the Texans' first victory of an eventual eight-game win streak to finish the season at 12-5.
The Texans are certainly hoping that this game looks a little more like that second meeting from 2025 as opposed to the first. And in the process of their first matchup against Jacksonville for this season, there are a select few storylines worth keeping a close eye on from now until these two take the field at Wembley Stadium on Sunday morning.
Let's break down three of the bigger storylines surrounding the Texans' Week 6 matchup against the Jaguars that I'll be watching the closest:
How Marvin Harrison Jr. Gets Acclimated
The Texans will get their first look at Marvin Harrison Jr. within their offense in Week 6 as the team has confirmed that he will be making the trip to London to face the Jaguars, and he will be getting on the field.
The bigger question for Harrison Jr.'s Week 6 showing, though, is just how involved he'll be from the jump.
DeMeco Ryans has already emphasized that the Texans won't be rolling out their new wideout for a huge chunk of snaps for this game earlier in the week, and will likely only have a select few designed plays where he'll be able to get on the field.
So how much will Harrison Jr. be utilized? How does he look in his first game as a part of the Texans, catching passes from his college quarterback against a pretty stout Jaguars defense? All eyes will be on the 2024 No. 4 pick in this one, even if on the field for a limited amount of time.
What Woody Marks Does Leading the Backfield
Veteran running back David Montgomery won't be making the trip to London as he recovers from a groin injury suffered in Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans. That means Woody Marks is due to be the Texans' primary runner throughout the day against Jacksonville, as he was for virtually the entire second half last weekend.
And Marks had a solid game when given the opportunity against Tennessee. He had a season-high 15 carries to turn in 62 yards on the ground, and paired that with four receptions for 23 yards.
But this Jaguars run defense is a force to be reckoned with. Jacksonville has allowed the lowest yards per game (63.8 yds/gm) and the lowest rushing yards over expected (-0.84) through the first five weeks of this season, meaning there aren’t many better at stuffing the run in the NFL than this team.
If Marks is able to overcome the tough matchup, and be the explosive threat in the backfield that this Texans offense could really benefit from, it'll pay off some major dividends for this offense entirely.
Can the Defense Keep Up Their Momentum?
The first four weeks of the season for the Texans' defense was a far cry from what they had been used to throughout all of their 2025 campaign.
After some electric performances from the likes of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, along with CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, the Texans decided to shift their defensive play-calling duties to head coach DeMeco Ryans, who had held onto the role for the first two seasons at the helm in Houston.
And that shift was able to work quite well against the Titans in Week 5. Houston limited Cam Ward and their offense to just three points on the day, and looked a whole lot similar to the form Texans fans had gotten used to over the course of last season, and thus landed them win number one on the season.
Now though, the Texans have a much tougher date against another AFC South opponent in the Jaguars, who have been an above-average scoring attack en route to their own 4-1 start to the season, and can be a true test of whether or not this Houston defense really is back to where they left off last season.
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