NFL
Will Jarrian Jones and Tyson Campbell play for the Jaguars against the Texans? Cornerback injury status
After suffering lopsided defeats in Week 3, the Houston and Jacksonville teams are looking to bounce back as they meet for their season’s first matchup.
Houston comes off a rough outing against Minnesota, while Jacksonville faced similar struggles in a blowout loss to Buffalo. Both teams now aim to recalibrate as they seek to gain some kind of momentum in the division.
Both the Jaguars and Texans are struggling in some critical parts of the game
The Texans will turn to rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who will be looking to put last week behind him. Stroud had an under-par performance, throwing for under 220 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions, and a passer rating under 70. He’ll need to learn quickly from his mistakes if Houston is to have success this week.
Jacksonville will counter with their own young quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, who also struggled in Week 3. Lawrence threw for just 180 yards, averaging under five yards per attempt, with one touchdown and a critical interception that hurt the Jaguars’ chances. Like Stroud, Lawrence finished with a sub-70 passer rating.
Despite their quarterbacks’ struggles, both teams have bright spots at wide receiver. Houston’s top target, Stefon Diggs, hauled in 10 catches for 94 yards last week, continuing to be a reliable option for Stroud. On the Jaguars’ side, Christian Kirk caught 8 passes for 79 yards..
What are the Jaguar’s and Texans’ problems with the defense?
Protection for the quarterbacks will be crucial in this game, especially for Lawrence, who was sacked four times and hit nine more times by Buffalo’s defense. Houston’s offensive line also struggled, allowing Stroud to be sacked four times for a loss of 42 yards.
On defense, both secondaries were exposed last week. The run defense is another area of concern for both teams. One area where Houston may have an advantage is in the pass rush. Despite their blowout loss to Minnesota, the Texans managed to sack Darnold four times. Jacksonville, on the other hand, failed to register a single sack against Buffalo.
Also, the Jaguars and Texans each enter Week 4 with more than a handful of players on their injury reports, with a combined 11 players limited in Wednesday’s practice and another six who did not participate.
The Jaguars’ cornerback unit is facing a tough situation, especially with the recent injuries. Tyson Campbell is already out due to a hamstring injury from Week 2, and it seems that the other two cornerbacks also have limited practice time leading up to the game against the Texans. Jarrian Jones (shoulder) and Montaric Brown (chest) have been dealing with ongoing issues, with Brown being the only player on the Wednesday report with a new injury. Brown has been filling in for Tyson Campbell for the past two weeks and has been performing well despite the challenges.