By CHARLIE
BERNSTEIN
FOXSportsFlorida.com / JagNation.com
Editor
Jan. 1, 2011
Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7) vs. Houston Texans (5-10)
Sunday, January 2, 4:15 p.m.
Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
Kickoff Temperature: Dome
Line: Texans by 3
Over/Under: 46
Series history: Jaguars lead 9-8; Jacksonville has won the last three meetings.
The Jaguars have a pretty simple formula for extending their season past Sunday -- beat the Houston Texans and hope that the Tennessee Titans defeat the Indianapolis Colts.
Here are the keys to a Jaguars victory:
1. Keep it simple. The Jaguars will start Trent Edwards for the first time this season and they will need to scale back the playbook to only the throws and plays that Edwards excels at.
2. Stop Arian Foster. Jacksonville must keep the league's leading rusher under wraps and force Matt Schaub to beat them with his arm without the services of Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson.
3. Throw the football. The Texans have one of the worst defenses in the NFL in quite some time and the Jaguars should try to expose a really porous secondary.
4. Special teams must bounce back. The Jacksonville special teams had its worst game of the season in last week's loss to Washington and they must play better if they're going to try to extend their season.
5. Hang around in the game. It's been proven that if the Texans are in a close game they will usually find a way to lose it. Jacksonville must stay within shouting distance and let Houston do the rest.
Bold predictions:
1. Arian Foster gets held under 75 yards rushing. The Jaguars shut down Foster in the first meeting and should be able to do it again.
2. Matt Schaub throws for over 275 yards. Seemingly every quarterback has a big day against the Jags secondary, why should Schaub miss out on the fun?
3. Trent Edwards does not take all the snaps. Due to either injury or ineffectiveness, the Jaguars will turn to Todd Bouman.
4. The Jaguars will get three or more sacks. The Jacksonville defensive line should have a great day against a battered Houston offensive line.
5. Jacksonville comes up short. Playing without Maurice Jones--Drew, Justin Durant and David Garrard, a road victory following two tough losses may be too tall of a task for the Jaguars.
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