JACKSONVILLE – Team reporter Kainani Stevens each week during the 2025 regular season will speak with a media member covering the Jaguars' opponent.
Up this week:
Texans analyst and sideline reporter John Harris on the Week 3 matchup against the Jaguars at Everbank Stadium Sunday.
Question: It has been a tough start to the season for the Texans at 0-2. What are the things that need to be fixed in Week 3 to get their first victory?
A: It's really a lot of simple fundamentals. On the final drive against the Buccaneers on Monday, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was able to take advantage of the Texans because they didn't tackle well. They missed a couple of key tackles. They're doing some of the fundamental things wrong defensively, even though guys are playing hard. If I were to put this in a music analogy: We want to bang our head like Metallica, and we need to chill out a little bit more like Sade. I think offensively there are some bright spots, but it's just hit or miss. The first drive was incredible against Tampa Bay but then there are periods of lulls and they just can't get out of their own way. It's a first-year offensive coordinator, first year play caller, lots of new pieces offensively, and it just hasn't clicked yet. It's going to be tough to go against the Jaguars' defense, but that's really what the charge is for the Texans in Week 3 trying to take out Jacksonville.
Q: How much do the Texans miss running back Joe Mixon right now? How do you see the game plan changing a little bit when taking on the Jaguars this week?
A: Mixon was really good because the offense was not great last year. He was really good at creating his own yards, but I don't know that they're missing it a ton. I mean, it would be great to have Mixon back because a lot of focus would go to Joe, but what they're missing is blitz pickup and a passing game. Either guys can get open and the protection's not great or the protection's great and guys can't get open. [Running back] Nick Chubb has given them a little something. His pass protection's been fantastic. Woody Marks, the rookie from Mississippi State and USC, has really done some good things for them too. Locally, Joe Mixon's name has not been brought up a lot, and I don't know if that's just being resolute to the fact that he's not here or that they don't miss him that much. I think their offensive issues really are not about missing Joe. I think it's more about just fundamentals.
Q: The Texans faced the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2. Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen worked in both those places and has built the offense in Jacksonville with those systems in mind. Does that help the Texans with game planning this week since it will be a similar scheme?
A: Yes and no. Monday night against the Buccaneers, they didn't stop that scheme at all. They stuffed the ball right down their throats. They had a lot of runs that the Texans were unable to account for. They ran different counters, different buck sweeps, different things that I know that Coen is sitting there saying "we can do this." The Jags have the running backs to do it with Travis Etienne Jr. and Bhayshul Tuten. I did a lot of work on Tuten in the draft, hoping that the Texans would take a look at him. When I saw the Jaguars draft him, I was very disappointed. I thought, that's going to be trouble if they're not on their fundamentals and not tackling well because those two guys are very difficult to tackle. It's great that you might know what's coming in a sense because you might see some tendencies that are the same. The way that Tampa Bay was able to execute, if Jacksonville executes in that way, it won't matter if the Texans know what's coming because they're going to stick it right down their throats with that running game. I also think Jacksonville's offensive line is going to be better than maybe some fans here want to expect. That's the other thing that stood out is how fast Jacksonville is, especially offensively. They have some guys that can really run. If I'm Liam, I go right back to what the Texans struggled with, especially because that fits with what I think Jacksonville does really, really well with Etienne and Tuten.
