JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The AFC South race is about to heat up.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will kick off the first of six AFC South games this season in Week 6, facing the Houston Texans in the second of their pair of London games. The Texans have long been seen as the greatest theat to the Jaguars in the AFC South, and this battle comes a year after the Jaguars posted their best record against the AFC South in franchise history in 2025 (5-1). The Jaguars split the season series against the Texans last year, and each of their last five games have been decided by one score.
“We had two really tight games against them. Obviously, have a have a tough feeling in our stomachs from the last time we played against these guys," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said Wednesday from the United Kingdom. "Know that every time that you line up against this team, it's going to be a fight. It's going to be a brawl. That's what's great about football, that's what's great about rivalries, is that you have a level of respect for each other."
So, what are the most important things Coen had to say about the battle in his first remarks on Houston on Wednesday? We break it down below.
On Houston's Defense
The Texans' 1-4 start certainly was not expected by anybody considering most picked the Texans to win the AFC South entering the year. It has instead been the Jaguars who have opened the season on fire with a 4-1 start that, frankly, should be 5-0 were it not for a blown second-half in Denver. The Jaguars are higher across the board in rankings and metrics, but the Jaguars know they can not take this game lightly.
Two of the the five worst games of the Coen-era in terms of offensive EPA/Play came against the Texans last year: the Week 3 17-10 win is the fourth-worst, while the 36-29 loss to the Texans in Week 10 was the worst offensive performance. The mix things up, the Texans now have head coach DeMeco Ryans calling plays on defense instead of defensive coordinator Matt Burke. They had a great game with that set-up against a bad Tennesee Titans team, but it remains to be seen just how much has changed.
“No, it was similar. I mean, they kind of do what they do in a lot of ways. Have historically played a little bit more man coverage against us at times, to kind of take some of the air out, I think, and not give as much free access and challenge us a little bit on the perimeter," Coen said Wednesday. "He calls what they call, what they do. Their whole deal is built on the front, the rush, the way that they fly around and play and their run defense is really good this year right now. They've got a group of guys that have some confidence. Records don't mean anything. We know that in this league and we understand what this team is, what they're about, how they're going to come in and play us. So, this is going to be a test of physical strain, fight, and that's what it's going to be."
Whether the Jaguars' offensive line can hold up against the Texans' front will likely be the biggest storyline of the week, but Coen's comments make it clear that the battle on the outside may be just as important.
On Marvin Harrison Jr.
It remains to be seen just how large of a role the Texans envision for their new weapon after the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade over the weekend. The Jaguars traded for Jakobi Meyers mid-week last season and he was able to play that Sunday against the Texans, though, so perhaps Harrison will play in some kind of capacity. Harrison was disappointing in Arizona after being a top-five selection, but the Texans are clearly expecting plenty out of him after what they sent to Arizona.
So, how do the Jaguars prepare for a player who has not yet taken a snap for the Texans? Coen addressed that Wednesday, noting that the study has already been done on Harrison and how he may be used in Houston, though there will still be the element of the unknown until the ball actually gets snapped.
“We showed some of Marvin's clips today in terms of what he's been able to do in Arizona, maybe what areas of the field they may try to use him. It's probably going to be hard to get him into a full game plan, but shoot, we did it with Jakobi [WR Jakobi Meyers] last year, and I know Marvin's smart and he works hard," Coen said.
"So, I would imagine that he's going to be a part of their game plan and C.J. and him have a lot of chemistry and history together. There's some unknown to truly how they'll use him, but their system, they kind of run what they do, and they put the guys in positions to make plays and I think Marvin will probably be no different that way.”
The Jaguars have frequently seen Nico Collins have major days against their secondary, and slowing him down has to be the first priority. But the Jaguars can also not overlook Harrison and the impact he might have on the Texans' offense out of the gate.
On Red-Zone Issues
The Jaguars had some absolutely brutal moments in the red-zone last week. The Jaguars went 0-for-3 on converting red-zone trips to touchdowns, which included two different trips where they had the ball on the Eagles' one-yard line on first down and didn't score. They got outright stopped on the first of those two drives, but the second one included a comedy of errors as false starts and a delay of game doomed the Jaguars before a fourth-down turnover on downs.
It remains to be seen if the Jaguars will run into the same problems on Sunday that they did against the Eagles considering most were self-inflicted. But the Jaguars will have to ensure their operation is much cleaner tis week when the stakes are even higher. Coen noted Wednesday that part of the solution falls on him as a play-caller.
“That was probably one of the louder atmospheres I've been in a while, especially in those critical moments, to where, hey guys, I can help you out with my play call," Coen said.
"Maybe shorten it up, trim the verbiage or call something a little bit more simplified down there where it was in that end zone specifically that got loud, and some of those critical downs. So, I showed the players and coaches a ton of clips of the TV copy, different versions of it to show them, look, we broke the huddle with eight seconds. That's not giving you a chance. That's not giving you guys the best chance to succeed, and that's directly on me."
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