JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have perhaps their most important game of the 2026 season thus far right around the corner.
The Jaguars will open their AFC South slate against the Houston Texans in London in Week 6, a game that could go a long way toward determining whether the Jaguars can create a larger gap between them and the Texans in the divisonal race.
So, what areas do the Jaguars have an edge over Houston ahead of Week 6? We break it down ahead of the Jaguars' critical matchup with the Texans.
Jaguars' DL vs. Texans OL
If there is one area where the Jaguars should be able to clearly overwhelm the Texans, it is in the trenches when the Jaguars are on defense. We saw the Jaguars get after the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive line last week, both with four-man rushes and with blitzes. Whether the Jaguars can do the same against the Texans and CJ Stroud should go a long way toward determining who wins this game.
The Texans, once again, have a patchwork offensive line that has not been able to put it together. The Texans' offensive line simply does not have the talent to match the likes of Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and Arik Armstead in the passing game. Hines-Allen and Walker have had massive performances against the Texans in the past, and everything is set up for them to have the same kind of performance on Sunday.
Both Aspects of the Running Game
The Jaguars' running game has been humming in 2026 until running into some hurdles last week, in part due the ascension of Bhayshul Tuten and the contributions the Jaguars' rookies Josh Cameron and Emmanuel Pregnon have made on the rushing attack. The Texans do have a good run defense, but the Jaguars have proven enough with their running game to this point that one could expect them to at least have a neutral set of outcomes against Houston.
As for the other side of the ball, it is hard to imagine the Texans getting anything going on the ground. They once again have one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL, Woody Marks is set to lead their backfield, and the Jaguars' rush defense is even better this year than it was a year ago. The Jaguars' defense has allowed an NFL-low 63.8 rushing yards per game (9.0 fewer than the next-closest team) and the second fewest points per game in the NFL (14.0), and their domination against the run is a big reason why.
Offensive Play-Caller
The biggest reason the Jaguars are one of the best teams in football right now is Liam Coen. During most weeks in his tenure, the Jaguars have had one of the NFL's most productive and efficient offensive schemes thanks to Coen and his ability as a play-caller. Coen has not been able to put together great offensive games against the Houston Texans in his short tenure as head coach, but he does give the Jaguars a big edge when it comes to play-caller vs. play-caller.
Coen vs. DeMeco Ryans should be a fascinating chessmatch, and it would be surprising if both coaches do not hold their own at different points. With that said, the Texans' offensive coordinator Nick Caley is not quite made of the same stuff. If he has to get into a shootout to both keep pace with Coen and try to get ahead of Anthony Campanile, there is reason to believe the Texans would struggle. The Texans will not want to put this game in Caley's hands.
Add us as a preferred source on Google