The Thursday night football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans doesn't mean much for the playoff race, but the first overall pick in the draft is in reach for both clubs and in Week 14 the matchup is at EverBank Field and it will air live on TV from the NFL Network and will stream online and on the radio from the NFL.com league website.
The Texans were a playoff team last season and have just been simply terrible this year, with starter Matt Schaub geting replaced by undrafted rookie Case Keenum and on top of that, Arian Foster is on the shelf for the rest of the season after having back surgery. Ben Tate has been very good in his place and that means he likely will get a solid free agent contract next season, while Andre Johnson has been on the fringe of trade rumors due to his unhappiness with the way the season has gone. The team won its first two games in the finals minutes and that means they could just as easily be 0-12 on the season and now they will get a chance to play the Jaguars, a team that was tied for the worst record in the league last season. Jacksonville comes in having won three of four, while the Texans lost to the Patriots for the third time in two seasons after losing on Sunday when they were up in the game.
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The Jaguars are coming into the game after a nice win over the Cleveland Browns that saw the team win in the final minute on a great catch by Cecil Shorts and now the team plays the Texans before hosting the Bills next week. The team is terrible rankings wise, but over the past three wins they have played much more consistently and the Jaguars are facing the Texans for the second time, as they beat them in Week 14 on the road and held the team to just a touchdown and now they come in after a nice offensive output against the Browns. The team has the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans next at home before hitting the road against the Colts and they can finish the season with some respectability after winning their last couple games.
The Texans have not won since back in September and the Jaguars started the season 08 before winning and now the Texans have lost their last three home games in a row as they enter this game. Houston has a great defense based on yards, but it hasn't helped much with their record, as they are ranked second in passing yards allowed per game and are one of the top ranked AFC teams in total defense, but too many pick six plays from Matt Schaub and other mistakes have held the team back. The Texans finish the season with three games on the road out of the last four after having three in a row at home in Texas and they have one game left at Reliant Stadium and in that matchup they will welcome Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos and that will be a tough game to win.