The Houston Texans (1-2) lost at home today to the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) and the run defense was terrible once again.  The Texans, who have the worst run-defense in the NFL, gave up 184 yards to the Jaguars today.  Jaguars’ running back Maurice Jones-Drew had 119 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries (5.2 avg).  The Texans let Jones-Drew explode for a 61-yard touchdown run late in the first half.  They also let David Garrard go for a 30-yard run in the first quarter, so the Texans defense is letting way too many big plays occur on the ground.

The Texans offense looked very good in the first half, as they went into the break leading 21-17.  Matt Schaub threw three touchdown passes in the first half, but the Jaguars defense settled in in the second half and held Schaub and the Texans offense in check.  Schaub had a pretty strong game as he went for 300 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception on 26/35 attempts (74%).  The Texans were only able to get three more points the rest of the game and got nothing in the fourth quarter.

The Texans had plenty of opportunities to win this game though and it looked like they tied it late in the 4th quarter when Schaub hit Joel Dreessen in the end-zone with under three minutes to play in the game.  The touchdown was called back though, as Kevin Walter was called for offensive pass interference.  The Texans still had the ball and a chance to tie the game but running back Chris Brown fumbled the ball on the goal line and Daryl Smith recovered for a touch-back.

It was a controversial call and was challenged, but the play stood and the Jaguars were able to run out the clock and win the game.  The Texan’s defense has got a lot of problems, especially with stopping the run.  They have given up at least one big play on the ground every game so far, and they are not going to win very many games if this keeps up.

The Houston Texans (1-1) are hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) this week at Reliant Stadium.  The Texans are looking to build off a big win against the Tennessee Titans last week and the Jaguars are still looking for the first win of the year.  The Texans passing offense has been great and quarterback Matt Schaub has been leading that attack extremely well.  After only amounting 166 passing yards in their week one loss to the New York Jets, Schaub put up 357 yards and four touchdowns on the Titans defense in their week two win.

The Jaguars defense has been pretty bad so far this season, as they have failed to get any pressure on the quarterbacks and have been missing tackles left and right.  Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner was able to break the completion percentage record last week as he went 24-26 against the Jaguars.  This is a great thing for the Texans, because when Schaub has time he has proven he is a good quarterback, and the Texans offensive line should not have a problem protecting him.

The Texans defense has been just as bad as the Jaguars though, as they have given up 55 points in two games and are last in total defense as they have given up an average of 455.5 yards a game.  Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew has not really gotten it going yet this year, but he is probably going to do some damage this game against the weak Texans defense.  Garrard hasn’t done anything yet this  year either, and has fumbled three times already.  So, if the Texans can get some pressure on Garrard he may cough it up.

This will probably be a high scoring battle, with the offenses shooting it out against each other.  I think the Texans have a more explosive offense and Schaub proved he can put up some big numbers, so I think the Texans are going to be able to outscore the Jaguars and win this game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Texans 38, Jaguars 31

Steve Slaton has been terrible this season and he is in danger of losing carries to Chris Brown.  Slaton has carried the ball 26 times for 51 yards (2.0 ypc) this season.  He has also caught 6 passes for 60 yards (10.0 avg) this year.  He has fumbled the ball three times already this season (lost one of them).  Coach Kubiak has been very tough on Slaton as he wants the kid to play like he did last year.  The Texans are only averaging 50.5 yards rushing per game this season and that just won’t get the job done.

The Texans have signed 24-year old safety Bernard Pollard to a 1-year deal.  Pollard played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last season and he made 98 tackles, defensed 1 pass, forced 3 fumbles and he picked off a pass.  Pollard has played in 48 games in his career and he has made 199 tackles, defensed 9 passes, has 1 sack, forced 5 fumbles and he has 3 interceptions.  A big reason the Texans brought him in is because he packs a punch against the running game.  The Texans have allowed a whopping 215.0 yards rushing per game this season.

The Texans have lost starting left guard Chester Pitts for the season due to microfracture surgery on his knee and MCL surgery.  This is a big blow to the Texans who were only averaging 50.5 yards rushing per game this season.  Kasey Studdard will step in for Pitts and the Texans are confident that he can do a decent job for them.