The AFC South’s last three division champs are meeting again, and this time the stage is London. The Houston Texans, sitting at 1-4, face the Jacksonville Jaguars, who come in at 4-1, in a matchup that already has plenty of familiarity baked in.
These teams split their season series last year, and both games were decided by exactly seven points. Go back even further and the trend gets even tighter: the last five meetings have all been one-score games.
Houston is also introducing a major new piece for C.J. Stroud.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is making his Texans debut after the team dealt for the wide receiver and a 2027 sixth-round pick from the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick. Harrison Jr., the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, never found his footing with Arizona the way the Cardinals hoped, but Houston is banking on him becoming a much-needed target for Stroud.
The two already have chemistry from their Ohio State days.
Stroud has been efficient through the first five games of the season, piling up the fifth-most passing attempts without an interception, 185, in NFL history over that span. He has also matched Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen for the NFL lead with 21 completions of 20 yards or more.
Jacksonville arrives in London for the second straight week after a dramatic 19-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, sealed by a buzzer-beating 57-yard field goal. Trevor Lawrence has been sharp for the Jaguars, who are in first place, and the numbers back it up. He ranks fifth in the league in yards per pass attempt at 8.1, eighth in completion percentage at 67.1%, tied for fifth in touchdown passes with 10, fourth in passer rating at 106.8 and ninth in EPA per dropback at 0.18.
The Texans will try to slow Lawrence down with Will Anderson Jr., who has racked up 6.0 sacks over the last three games. With Harrison joining Stroud and Anderson chasing Lawrence, this one has all the ingredients for another tight finish across the pond.
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Falcons Pass Rush Suddenly Feels Thin As Bralen Trice Reenters Picture
The Falcons made a notable shuffle on defense ahead of their Week 6 matchup with the Bears, signing edge rusher Bralen Trice to the active roster and bringing safety Jammie Robinson back to the practice squad. Atlanta also elevated Robinson and defensive end Drake Jackson for the game, another sign the staff is trying to keep enough bodies available as it pieces together the weeks defensive plan.
Trice has already appeared in three games this season and has shown some pass-rush potential, which makes his move to the 53-man roster worth watching beyond just the transaction wire. With Robinson and Jackson supplying extra depth, the Falcons are clearly leaning on every available option to shore up a defense that needs more pressure off the edge and more flexibility across the front. [Read more 🡒]
Former Falcons Punter Dies At 35 After Long Cancer Battle
Kasey Redferns death at 35 has sent another wave of sadness through the NFL community, including the Falcons circle that saw him briefly in a regular-season role. The former punter, who played for seven teams from 2014 through 2019 and also appeared for Detroit, was remembered for a career that kept him moving from stop to stop while he fought a serious illness away from the field.
Redfern died on Oct. 13 after a three-year battle with brain cancer and central nervous system lymphoma, leaving behind his wife, Lauryl, and their two sons. For Atlanta, his name is a reminder of how quickly a player can pass through the building and still leave a lasting mark when the news years later is about far more than football. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons May Have Waited Too Long On Cameron Thomas
Cameron Thomas was supposed to be one of the low-risk additions the Falcons made in March, a one-year flier to help fortify the edge. Instead, he has become one of the most productive pieces of their pass rush at a time when injuries and suspensions have left the front looking thinner than planned, turning a modest signing into an increasingly important part of the defense.
Through five games, Thomas has already forced his way into the conversation as a player the Falcons may need to secure before his value climbs any higher. Atlanta still has cap space to work with, and the longer this kind of production continues, the more sense it makes to think beyond the short-term deal and into what it might cost to keep him from testing the market with momentum on his side. [Read more 🡒]