JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It is becoming clear the Jacksonville Jaguars will be without one of their top defenders on Sunday against the Houston Texans, at least based off this week's injury reports.
The Jaguars had two players miss practice for the second day in a row on Thursday with long snapper Ross Matiscik (shoulder) and cornerback Montaric Brown (hamstring). With Brown missing two days in a row, it is becoming clear that the Jaguars will be down one of their top cornerbacks as they face off against the Texans and their passing game.
Thursday's Injury Report
With the success the Texans have had in the passing game this season, it will be important for the Jaguars' secondary to be at their very best. That looks, as of now, like it will largely be up to Travis Hunter, Jarrian Jones, and Jourdan Lewis to slow down CJ Stroud and Nico Collins. While Brown has struggled at times this season, his last three games have clearly been impacted by his hamstring injury.
Brown missed the Jaguars' Week 4 battle with the Cincinnati Bengals and played just six snaps last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. When healthy, Brown is one of the Jaguars' best defenders thanks to his coverage ability, run defense, and instincts. The Jaguars have a talented secondary that can still make it work and win games without Brown on the field, but they are better when they have their entire unit at 100%.
“Everybody's kind of pulling the rope in the same direction in terms of improvement, and we see that; I've seen that even here in the few days that we've been out here in London. I think the guys are improving, and they're constantly coaching each other on the same stuff, talking about the same stufff," Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said on Thursday.
"And when those things are applied in the practice, it's starting to show up in the game, and their technique has been helping them. They made a bunch of plays the other day. There's plays out there that we certainly want to make but we're making a whole bunch of them, and we're only going to continue to get better. I firmly believe that. And I think it does give us some flexibility, because we got a bunch of guys that have played pretty well for us out there.”
As for those who were limited on Thursday, the Jaguars once again had Tight end Nate Boerkircher (back), right tackle Cole Van Lanen (knee), rookie guard Emmanuel Pregnon (toe), cornerback Jarrian Jones (elbow), cornerback Jourdan Lewis (hamstring), cornerback Jaylon Jones (hamstring) and safety Eric Murray (concussion) listed as limited.
Pregnon is a significant name to watch as we continue through the week. He has started all five games for the Jaguars at left guard and has been a big part of their running game taking a step forward this season. Considering the Jaguars are already missing left tackle Anton Harrison for next month, Pregnon's status entering Sunday against a strong Texans front is critical.
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