Bill O'Brien and the Texans are impressed with Jacksonville.
After yesterday's 30-24 victory over the Seahawks, the Jaguars are 9-4 and atop the AFC South. In Week 1 at Houston, they jumped out to a 19-0 halftime advantage, rang up 10 sacks and left NRG Stadium with a 29-7 victory. They've won seven of their last eight contests, and O'Brien knows the Texans have a big challenge in Week 15.
"They're playing at a high level," O'Brien said in a Monday press conference. "Just like every year in this league, teams get hot. Jacksonville's hot."
The Jaguars lead the NFL in takeaways with 30, and their defense has picked off 19 passes, which is the second-best mark in the League. Overall, they're tops in the NFL in turnover differential at plus-14. O'Brien pointed to head coach Doug Marrone's influence as one of the key factors in the turnaround from six straight losing seasons.
"Doug's done a great job with that team," O'Brien said. "They're playing hard, they've got a lot of talent. We've got a big, big time challenge on our hands."
On offense, quarterback Blake Bortles has tossed 16 touchdowns and been picked off eight times, while rookie Leonard Fournette has rumbled for 100 yards or more in a game five times this year. He's also racked up 923 yards and eight scores in just 11 games this year.
"Jacksonville's a really, really tough team when it comes to running the football and all the things that they do," O'Brien said. "So we've got to get these things corrected."
The Texans will practice Wednesday through Friday, and leave for Jacksonville on Saturday.
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