The Jacksonville Jaguars battled the Houston Texans in a Week 4 loss in Houston. Now in Week 13, they have a chance for revenge by spoiling the Texans in the standings for the conference as they are currently in close competition with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 3rd seed. Here’s what the Jags need in order to achieve victory (or to  hurt the hopes of all the Travis hunters within the Duval Devout looking for a high-round draft pick via tanking)

Trevor Lawrence Has to Play

Before the bye, Jacksonville’s franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence was dealing with an AC joint injury. While it wasn’t on his throwing shoulder, it was enough to sideline him for two games in lieu of Mac Jones. In those contests where Jones started against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, the offense averaged 6.5 points.

While the Jags have only won two games all season, there are members of the Duval Devout who believe that the Jaguars should have beaten the Texans the last time around. Former Jaguar defensive tackle Foloronso Fatukasi stuffed a quarterback sneak by Lawrence in the last game, which was a game-changer. Can Lawrence and company make those extra plays necessary to avoid the sweep from Houston?

Attacking the Texans O-Line

There’s an element of comedy in watching Texans fans on social media dog Lawrence for his struggles caused by lacking protection only to staunchly defend their second-year field general C.J. Stroud by throwing their offensive line under the bus.  That being said, Jags fans and Texans fans alike are right to defend their quarterbacks — it’s not their fault.

For Jacksonville to find success, Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen need to take the opportunity to thrive battling a line that is currently underperforming. While the Texans tackle Laremy Tunsil is a talented anchor for the squad, if defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen can find a way to isolate others in the trenches, it could be a tough day for Stround under center who is dealing with injured receivers  missing from the starting roster.

Do the Jags Still Have Fight In Them?

The fact that Jaguars media and fans (myself included) are talking about tanking for a higher draft choice implies that the locker room is a low-morale environment. They are also essentially one more loss away from being mathematically eliminated from postseason participation.

With so little to play for in terms of standing, fans breaking out clown masks, and sharks circling for the jobs of the head coach and general manager, players are going to need to dig deep and find pride to play with on Sunday.