Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans Matchup Preview (9/12/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans Matchup Preview (9/12/21)

Week 1 of the NFL is almost here! One of the early matchups on Sunday, September 12 sees the Jacksonville Jaguars traveling to NRG Stadium to face off against the Houston Texans. Neither team saw much success in 2020, with Houston finishing the year 4-12 and Jacksonville with a 1-15 record. Both made major moves in the offseason, but we’re going to have to wait until this game kicks off to get some answers.

The Jaguars are currently favored in the game with a -3 line. Meanwhile, the Over/Under number sits at 45.5. The line was as low as -1.5 at some sportsbooks back in May, but it looks like the tides are turning as more money goes to the Jaguars. Don’t be too terribly surprised if that number keeps growing up to -3.5 or possibly even -4 before this game kicks off.

Let’s take a deeper look at how both teams are looking as we approach this season, as well as a few betting tips and some daily fantasy sports picks.

TV Schedule

Date: September 12th, 2021
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Location: NRG Stadium – Houston, TX
TV Coverage: CBS

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans Live Stream

Where can you watch Jaguars vs. Texans online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Jaguars vs. Texans Free Online Now.

Injuries

Jaguars:
Texans:

Jacksonville Jaguars Analysis

The Jaguars are a team in a state of flux. They’re starting anew after a disastrous 1-15 season, complete with a new coaching staff, new players, and the much-hyped No. 1 overall pick in QB Trevor Lawrence. Urban Meyer takes over as an NFL head coach for the very first time after an 83-9 record at his last stop coaching Ohio State.

While there might be some optimism around the new-look Jags, let’s not forget just how lousy they were last year in some major categories. The Jags ranked well in the lower half of the league in terms of passing offense (21st ranked), run offense (29th), passing defense (26th), and run defense (30th).

The preseason hasn’t been totally inspiring for the Jags so far either. They’ve started 0-2 so far and Lawrence has been average, going 20 for 32 for 184 yards without a touchdown or pick. Possibly the worst preseason news has to do with first round pick Travis Etienne, who went down in the Jaguars’ second preseason game with a Lisfranc injury, likely for the season.

Right now, DraftKings is giving the Jaguars an Over/Under of 6.5 wins. This seems like a lot of wins for a team in such a state of transition, but they might be able to steal a few games here and there from mediocre teams. They have some winnable games on their schedule, as they play the Bengals, Jets, and Texans twice. Speaking of which…

Jacksonville Jaguars Depth Chart

QB: Trevor Lawrence
RB1: James Robinson
RB2: Carlos Hyde
WR1: DJ Chark
WR2: Laviska Shenault Jr.
WR3: Marvin Jones
TE1: James O’Shaughnessy

Houston Texans Analysis

Just like Jacksonville, the Houston Texans are coming into 2021 with a new head coach and (most likely) a new QB. David Culley comes over from the Baltimore Ravens to mark his first time as a head coach. And, with Deshaun Watson’s legal issues casting a shadow over his ability to play this year, the Texans are looking to Tyrod Taylor and rookie Davis Mills to man the QB position.

The fact that Watson probably won’t take a snap for the Texans this year is a huge blow. Even though the team lost 12 games, Watson led the league in passing and finished with a QB rating of 112.4. Plus, they return one of the worst defenses from last year, highlighted by their 32nd ranked rushing defense. And losing J.J. Watt to the Cardinals won’t help that. The Texans have had a pretty successful preseason so far though, going 2-0 with wins over the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.

DraftKings is giving the Texans an Over/Under of 4 wins for the 2021 season. This is the lowest in the league, with only the Detroit Lions (4.5 Over/Under) close by. Clearly, the books aren’t giving the Texans much value this season, and it’s easy to see why.

Houston Texans Depth Chart

QB: Tyrod Taylor
RB1: Phillip Lindsay
RB2: David Johnson
WR1: Brandin Cooks
WR2: Chris Conley
WR3: Nico Collins
TE1: Jordan Akins

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans Betting Corner

Last year, the Texans took both games against the Jaguars, which is a little misleading considering the presence of Watson in both matches. The Jaguars were 7-9 ATS while the Texans finished the year 6-10. Unless we’re going off of Meyer’s college record, we don’t know how either head coach responds in a regular season NFL game.

The one thing that I think is the deciding factor is the Jaguars rushing attack against the Texans defense. Despite losing Etienne, the Jaguars still have James Robinson (1,070 yards and 7 TDs last year) and Carlos Hyde (356 yards and 4 TDs last year) in the backfield. While I’m expecting Lawrence and his receivers to take a little bit of time to get used to each other, I think Meyer will try to play it safe and feed his running backs the ball.

Both teams were 8-8 in terms of Over/Under last year. But this is a case of questionable offenses facing questionable defenses. I could see a 10-3 final or a 30-23 final. I’d stay away from that 45.5 total and go Jaguars -3 to grab their first win of the season.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans Daily Fantasy Picks

This is a good opportunity to get some value on some skill positions. James Robinson averaged 18.8 fantasy points a game last year. Right now, he’s listed at $6,400 on DraftKings, which I believe is a better value than some higher-priced players like Austin Ekeler ($7,000 and 16.5 fantasy points per game).

I don’t see any value in adding either QB to your team at the moment, just since there are still so many questions on both sides. Wait until Week 2 to consider Lawrence or Taylor (or Watson, if anything changes from now to Week 1).

In terms of receivers, I see some value in Brandin Cooks for the Texans. He has even less competition for targets now that Randall Cobb has been traded to the Packers, and averaged 16.1 fantasy points per game last year. He’s currently listed at $5,300, cheaper than Chase Claypool ($5,600 and 14.4 fantasy points per game) and Robby Anderson ($5,700 and 14.6 fantasy points per game).