OK, I'm over it. It took an extra day or so, but I've finally recovered from the second half at Dallas and I'm ready for the Jags. This is the Texans' best rival for sure. The series is tied at four games each.
The game brings back some memorable Texans wins. Year one, Houston got a great punt return by Aaron Glenn after a lateral from Jabar Gaffney. After Kris Brown kicked the go-ahead field goal, Kailee Wong had two big sacks on Jacksonville's final possession.
In '03, David Carr went over the top from the one-yard line on the final play of the game in one of the most thrilling moments in team history. In '04, the team beat the Jags on Battle Red Day to give the Texans a 4-3 record in the high water mark of team history. They would later help spoil the Jags' playoff hopes with a day-after-Christmas 21-0 blanking (the only shutout in team history).
Enough of the past. This is a Jacksonville team that has admitted displeasure in being the Battle Red Day opponent for the third straight year. Accusations of the Texans regarding the Jaguars as a "homecoming" opponent have echoed around North Florida. It's as if the Jags are creating their own bulletin board material to get fired up for the game.
Hearing about the dirty bomb threat this week was sobering. When terror threats enter the sports conversation it quickly changes the priorities. But the NFL is very good about security. And Reliant Stadium was completed after 9-11 with state of the art security hardware and infrastructure.
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