The Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars will travel to London, England, to play the final game of this season’s International Series at Wembley Stadium. The Texans lead the series 22-14-3 and have won the past three games. Houston comes into the game 5-3 after their three-point win over Oakland last Sunday, and Jacksonville comes into the game 4-4 on the season, also winning last week against the New York Jets.
The Texans have averaged 395 offensive yards and 362.1 defensive yards so far this season, and quarterback Deshaun Watson has completed 190 of 274 passes for 2,231 yards, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a rating of 105.7. Carlos Hyde leads the team with 120 carries for 544 yards and three touchdowns, while DeAndre Hopkins has posted 60 receptions for 617 yards and three touchdowns. Whitney Mercilus leads the team with five-and-a-half sacks while Tashaun Gipson leads with two interceptions on the season. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn has kicked 21 of 25 extra points and 11 of 14 field goals.
Watson passed for 279 yards and three touchdowns in addition to rushing the ball 46 yards in Sunday’s victory over Oakland and is the first player in NFL history to have 15 or more passing touchdowns and five or more rushing touchdowns in his team’s first eight games. Watson also has 300 or more passing yards in three of his past four games on the road against the AFC South and is 3-0 in three career starts against Jacksonville.
Running back Carlos Hyde recorded for 83 yards last week and posted 90 rush yards in the two teams’ Week 2 meeting. Hyde rushed for 189 yards on 58 attempts in eight games playing for Jacksonville last year. Duke Johnson also recorded a touchdown in Week 8 while wide receiver Kenny Still is looking for his third game in a row on the road with 85 or more receiving yards
Wide receiver Deandre Hopkins led the team with 11 catches for 109 yards last week and became the third-youngest player with 8,000 career receiving yards in NFL history. Hopkins has four receiving touchdowns in his past four games against Jacksonville and is going for his sixth game in a row against the AFC South with a touchdown catch.
Tight end Darren Fells posted six catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns last week. Fells also leads all AFC tight ends with five receiving touchdowns this year.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Whitney Mercilus recorded two sacks and two forced fumbles in the last meeting between these teams and has posted 10 sacks and five forced fumbles in his last eight games against Jacksonville. Zach Cunningham led the team in the win over Oakland with eight tackles, a pass deflection, and a tackle for loss last week. In the Week 2 meeting, Cunningham posted 10 tackles and a sack. Charles Omenihu also had a sack and a forced fumble in the Week 2 matchup.
Linebacker Bernardrick McKinney is going for his eighth game in a row on the road against the division with five or more tackles. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph has recorded 10 pass deflections in his last six games against the Jaguars. Gareon Conley, in his Houston debut last week, recorded two pass deflections.
On the other side of the field, the Jacksonville Jaguars have put up an average of 379.8 offensive yards and 342.5 defensive yards so far this season, and rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew has recorded 161 of 260 completed passes for 1,976 yards, 13 touchdowns, and two interceptions for a 98.8 rating. Leonard Fournette leads the team this season with 163 carries for 791 yards and one touchdown, while D.J. Chark has recorded 39 reception for 660 yards and six touchdowns. Rookie Josh Allen leads with seven sacks, and Ronnie Harrison and Tre Herndon both have two interceptions on the season. Josh Lambo has an impressive kicking record, missing only one PAT, putting it thru 12 of 13 times. He has a perfect field goal record: 21 out of 21.
Minshew recorded 279 yards for a career-high three touchdowns and a 119.6 rating in the victory over the Jets. Minshew leads all rookies with 13 passing touchdowns and a 98.8 rating, and he recorded 213 yards and a touchdown in the Week 2 matchup. Fournette had 136 scrimmage yards in Week 8 and leads the AFC with 791 rush yards. He also ranks third in the NFL with 1,054 scrimmage yards this season. In his only career game in London, when playing against the Ravens, he posted 80 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown.
Wide receiver D.J. Chark recorded 79 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown last week. He recorded seven receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 against Houston. Chark leads the AFC and is tied for the NFL lead with six touchdown catches.
Chris Conley led the team with 104 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in Week 8 and is going for his third game in a row with 80 or more receiving yards. He posted 73 receiving yards in the Week 2 matchup.
On the defensive side, Calais Campbell recorded one-and-a-half sacks last week, and has seven-and-a-half sacks in his last five games against the Texans. He has recorded another one-and-half-sacks plus a forced fumble in two career games in London. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue recorded two sacks last week and has three-and-a-half sacks and two forced fumbles in his last four games against Houston. Campbell and Ngakoue are the only pair of teammates with at least 25 sacks each since 2017. Rookie Josh Allen posted two sacks and a forced fumble last week and leads all AFC rookies with seven sacks. Cornerback Tre Herndon had his first two career interceptions last week against the Jets.
Game Info:
Date: November 3, 2019
Time: 9:30 a.m. EST
TV: NFL Network
A familiar foe in an unfamiliar setting. 🇬🇧
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 31, 2019
See you soon, 🇬🇧#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/qRGdroZ6eK
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 31, 2019
