The Jacksonville Jaguars travel to face the Houston Texans this Sunday. Here are three key battles to keep an eye on in Week 10:
Jakobi Meyers vs Jalen Pitre
Let’s dive straight in with the newest addition to the Jaguars. With injury wiping out a chunk of the receiver room, James Gladstone made a move before the trade deadline, sending the Las Vegas Raiders a 4th and 6th round selection in next year’s draft for Jakobi Meyers. In the final season of a 3-year, $33m deal, Meyers requested a trade back in August when negotiations weren’t going anywhere. Despite the impasse, he led the Raiders in receptions through the first nine weeks of the season, even though he hasn’t scored a touchdown or accumulated the yards he was accustomed to whilst with the New England Patriots.
Meyers won’t have time to ease himself into the Jaguars playbook. With Travis Hunter on IR, Braun Thomas missing practice with an ankle injury sustained against the Raiders last week and Dyami Brown still working his way back from a concussion, he’ll need to contribute from the slot immediately. That matches him up with Jalen Pitre, one of the best slot corners in the NFL this season. On course for the best season of his career, Pitre already has three interceptions in 2025 and has been one of the leaders of a secondary up there with the best in the NFL. And, worryingly for the Jags, he’s picking up pace too, with 24 of his 46 tackles coming in the last three games.
Pitre missed Wednesday’s practice recovering from a concussion sustained in the Texans’ game against the Denver Broncos, but according to all reports he will be suiting up on Sunday. Meyers needs to hit the ground running to ensure Trevor Lawrence has options when he drops back to pass.
Davis Mills vs Josh Hines-Allen
Whilst Pitre looks set to recover from his concussion, quarterback CJ Stroud will not – confirmed as out for the game this coming weekend. That means the Texans will turn to Davis Mills to lead the offense whilst their franchise QB recovers.
Mills is the epitome of a game-managing quarterback, an ideal backup that has limited capacity to win a game but won’t often be the reason why you lose one. Despite falling to a last second field goal on Sunday Mills was serviceable, going 17/30 for 137 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. His presence under center won’t strike fear into the Jaguars’ secondary, but having a guy with 6,300 passing yards under his belt on standby is far from the worst case scenario Houston could be facing right now.
I was going to match Mills up with Devin Lloyd who is set to return from injury this week and has tormented quarterbacks when dropping back into coverage. But Mills’ real weakness is his inability to escape pressure; a lack of mobility hamstrung him as a starter in the 2021 and 2022 seasons where he took a whopping SIXTY TWO sacks, costing his team 450 yards. He showed his vulnerability in the pocket again on Sunday as the Broncos got to him twice. Josh Hines-Allen should be licking his lips at the opportunity ahead of him this weekend; if he can get the better of rookie left tackle Aireontae Ersery he’ll be padding his stats in this one.
Liam Coen vs DeMeco Ryans
This is the first time this season I’ve gone head coach on head coach, but these two leaders will likely be facing off against each other for a long time and the battle intrigues me. On one sideline you’ve got the offensive-minded Liam Coen, who orchestrated explosive passing attacks wherever he’s been. On the other sideline DeMeco Ryans, a former standout linebacker who has built a mean defense in his own image in Houston.
I think it’s fair to say that Ryans has already proven himself to be an astute head coach in his young career to date. The Texans struggled to find a leader after moving on from Bill O’Brien, firing two HC’s both one year into their tenures. Two AFC South titles in his first two years at the helm validates the hire. Coen, meanwhile, has only just stepped foot on his own head coaching path. And whilst it’s far too early to determine if he was the right choice for the Jaguars, there are promising signs and a healthier feel around the franchise.
Coen got the better of Ryans when these two teams met back in Week 3, a third loss in a row to start the season for Houston. But the Texans have improved since then, winning three of their next five games. Conversely, the Jaguars started off hot before dropping a couple of games before last week’s nail biting win in Las Vegas. With both teams battling to keep pace with the Indianapolis Colts at the top of the division, this game could prove crucial come the playoffs.
