What We Learned Against the Houston Texans

JagNation will now compare our keys to victory with what actually happened in the Jaguars disappointing 30-17 loss to the Texans.

Five most important things for the Jaguars:

1. Limit big plays. The Texans had several big plays from Steve Slaton and a big catch by Andre Johnson.

2. Open it up. The Jaguars didn’t open it up until the end, when it was too late.

3. Win special teams. That didn’t happen either. Jacoby Jones had the only big return and the Jaguars failed to recover three onside kicks.

4. Get started early. No points in the first half wouldn’t constitute getting started early.

5. Don’t hold the ball. David Garrard held the ball.

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What to look for:

1. Look for Rashean Mathis to line up against Andre Johnson. Mathis did during the first half until he left the game with a knee injury. It didn’t slow down Johnson too much as he caught six passes in the first half.

2. Look for a lot of three-step drops. The short passing game was good to the Texans early, and they didn’t need to throw much in the second half.

3. Look for Owen Daniels to step up. Daniels wasn’t much of a factor as he caught two passes for 25 yards.

4. Look for Slaton to get shut down. That didn’t happen. Slaton gained 130 yards on 21 touchdowns with two touchdowns. He caught two passes for 52 yards.

5. Look for lots of red. The Texans uniforms consisted of red jerseys and red pants, and much of the crowd was wearing red. The Jaguars faces should be red with embarrassment.