TEXANS 20, JAGUARS 7
Texans climb atop division with 20-7 win over Jaguars
Oct 21, 2018, 3:20 pm
The Texans came out with a powerful pass rush and capitalized on turnovers to claim first place in the AFC South by beating the Jaguars on the road in Jacksonville 20-7. Turnovers forced by the Texans defense led to 10 points and the pass rush set the tone early for a Jaguars offense that was under siege all day.
The Houston defense finished the day with nine quarterback hits and four sacks. They recovered two fumbles by Blake Bortles and safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Cody Kessler. Jacksonville was held to 70 yards rushing and 189 yards passing. The Houston defense forced a 47% conversion rate on third down.
Jacksonville’s starting quarterback Bortles looked terrible in the game before being replaced by Kessler after fumbling to end their first drive of the second half, his second turnover of the game. Houston would capitalize with a touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins and a dominant 20-0 lead.
Kessler looked better than Bortles, leading one drive 47 yards for their lone touchdown of the day. But he was not good enough to avoid four sacks for minus 28 yards from the Houston defense. Jadeveon Clowney led the way with two, and Whitney Mercilus and Tyrann Mathieu getting one apiece.
The key to Houston’s offensive success was the run game led by Lamar Miller. All day he looked like a different running back. He was running ahead and finding holes to the tune of 4.5 yards per carry average. He finished the game totaling 100 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown. Alfred Blue was great on his eight carries for 28 yards to keep the ball moving forward. They picked up another 13 yards from Watson on their way to 141 total yards rushing.
Watson’s passing game was flustered by the Jacksonville pass rush, especially the speed rush of Yannick Ngakoue against left tackle Julie’n Davenport. But he did well with no turnovers and a touchdown pass with only one sack. His numbers don’t jump off the page like previous weeks (12 of 24 for 139 yards) but the Texans had a lot of short fields to work with. They scored touchdowns on both possessions inside the red zone, something they have been criticized about heavily this season.
Defense won the game again this week, but because Houston didn’t turn the ball over and Watson only took one sack, the offense stayed in motion and put up points on the board. The Texans still hurt themselves with six penalties for 35 yards, most of them pre-snap penalties; but it looks like the offense might be getting closer to what it can be at its best.
The Houston Astros are looking to avoid an unexpected sweep Wednesday night as they wrap up their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians at Daikin Park.
Winners of six of their last ten despite back-to-back losses, the Astros (55-37) turn to left-hander Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) to steady the ship and salvage the finale. Walter has been reliable in his recent outings, and he’ll face a Guardians lineup that has struggled to string together hits, batting just .204 over their last 10 games.
Cleveland (42-48) entered the series on a 10-game losing streak, but now has a chance to sweep the AL West leaders and take the season series. Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56 ERA) gets the start for the Guardians. The 26-year-old righty has kept his ERA under 4.00 this year and will look to neutralize a Houston offense that leads the American League in batting average at .260 and is hitting .295 over the last 10 games.
All eyes remain on Jose Altuve, who has driven in 16 runs and slugged four homers over his last 10 games. He’s been the heartbeat of the Houston offense, while Isaac Paredes continues to deliver steady power at the top of the lineup. The Astros have scored five or more runs in eight of their last ten games, but the bullpen faltered late in both of the first two games of this series.
Cleveland counters with the steady presence of Carlos Santana and the always-dangerous Jose Ramirez. Though Ramirez is just 6-for-38 in his last 10 games, he’s delivered key home runs in the series and remains the Guardians’ biggest threat.
With the season series now 3-2 in favor of Cleveland, Wednesday’s matchup carries added weight for the Astros as they look to regroup and avoid letting momentum slip further. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -144, Guardians +121; over/under is 8 runs
Astros lineup for the finale
What stands out? First off, Jake Meyers returns to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a calf issue. With Meyers back in the two-spot, Cam Smith returns to hitting cleanup. Caratini is playing first base again and hitting fifth, followed by Yainer Diaz (C), Cooper Hummel (DH), Taylor Trammell (LF), and Mauricio Dubon (SS).
Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.
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