Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Jacksonville 24 at Houston 21 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Jacksonville Jaguars: RB Stacey Mack admitted the Jaguars didn't take the expansion Texans seriously enough in their first game and the intensity level for the rematch was definitely upped for Jacksonville. QB Mark Brunell did enough to win the game without a spectacular show. Looked heavily to Jimmy Smith and was mobile in the pocket as always. RB Stacey Mack's vulturing of Fred Taylor's numbers isn't just a problem, it's a problem that's getting worse. Mack saw only 1 less carry than Taylor (13 to 12) and only had 2 less yards (56 to 54) On one series, Coach Coughlin fed Mack the ball 4 consecutive times inside the 5 until he scored. The worse part is that Taylor seems to be healthy and running well. Houston Texans: QB David Carr showed grit and determination as he tried to carry this team. With a non existent running game, it's pretty much all Carr. He looked very good completing 22 of 30 passes and played a conservative game plan. He showed his rushing ability with 2 TDs on the ground to go with his 1 passing TD. WR Corey Bradford is still the primary WR and a deep threat. He just doesn't have enough help to be a consistent producer. TE Billy Miller continues to be a solid and reliable "security blanket" for Carr. Carr stated a couple of weeks ago that of all his receivers, he feels the most comfortable throwing to Miller. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Jacksonville Jaguars QB: Mark Brunell showed he "still has a little life in these legs" with a solid performance as Jacksonville avoided a sweep by Houston. Brunell threw 15 of 25 for 224 with 2 TDs and 1 Interception. He only rushed 3 times for 12 yards but was his usual mobile self in the pocket. Jimmy Smith was the preferred target as usual but he also was very effective throwing to TE Pete Mitchell. RB: Fred Taylor owners had just better accept Stacey Mack as a fact of life. Mack had 12 carries including the goalline work he's been getting. Taylor ran well and was effective on the 13 carries for 56 yards. He had a long run of 18. Interestingly, he had no receptions which hurts. There is one small ray of hope in that Taylor did get one carry from the 4 yard line where he rushed for 2 yards. Stacey Mack is the RB on this team that scores points. Here's how confident Coach Tom Coughlin is in Mack: Following a David Carr interception, Jacksonville took over at the Houston 2 yard line. 1st down- Mack lost 4 yards. 2nd down- Mack gained 5 yards. 3rd down- Mack for no gain. And on 4th and 1, they gave it Mack again for a TD. For the day, Mack gained 54 yards on 12 carries including a 23 yard romp. Bottom line is that it's getting uglier for Fred Taylor owners while Stacy Mack might be the best bargain in Fantasy Football right now. WR: The Jaguar passing game continues to revolve around Jimmy Smith. He's as solid as ever and this game was typical Smith. 70 yards on 6 receptions with a long pass play of 21. Also scored a TD. Smith saw plenty of coverages but still managed his yards. Bobby Shaw gained 46 yards on 3 receptions and seems to be enough of a threat to draw at least a little interest from Smith. Not a big factor. Kevin Lockett caught one pass for 35 yards. TE: Pete Mitchell came up big with a long 45 yard reception. For the day, he caught 2 for 50 yards. Kyle Brady caught 3 passes for 23 yards along with a TD to cap the drive that Mitchell snagged the 45 yarder on. That drive probably sums up the Jacksonville TE situation - both Brady and Mitchell are important parts of this team and both are solid TEs, but in this situation, neither likely see enough looks to be reliable contributors to a FF team. Pass Defense: As every team does, the Jaguars were effective in getting to David Carr. They sacked Carr 4 times and intercepted him once. For the day, they held him to 228 yards passing which was ok but not a shut out type performance. Rush Defense: David Carr rushed for 2 TDs but Jacksonville shut down the Texan RBs. James Allen rushed 11 times for 30 yards while they held Jonathon Wells to 15 yards on 9 carries. Extremely Stout. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Houston Texans QB: David Carr showed some grit and determination as he tried to hoist his team on his back down the stretch. This was a close game because Carr made it close. He had little help from his running game. Carr threw 30 times completing 22 of them for 228 yards. He threw for 1 TD and threw one costly interception that gave Jacksonville the ball on the Houston 2. Sadly to say, he was the leading rushing for Houston with 33 yards on 7 carries. 2 of those rushes were for TDs. Houston had a chance to win the game with 1:38 on the clock but they couldn't put a drive together. All in all, Carr's progressing and growing as a QB. RB: The running game was non existent. James Allen rushed 11 times for 30 yards. Continually stuffed at the line. At least Allen added 32 yards with 7 receptions. Jonathon Wells was even worse with 15 yards on 9 carries. An ugly performance by both RBs. WR: Corey Bradford is still the primary guy and was somewhat effective catching 5 for 73 including a TD. He's the deep threat and saw plenty of extra coverage as teams know he's the clear #1 guy. Jabar Gaffney did his best to take some heat off Bradford and managed 45 yards on 3 receptions. He's learning but has a long ways to go before defenses start worrying about him. TE: Billy Miller was active with 4 catches for 41 yards. He continues to have a good relationship with Carr and is a nice "safety blanket" when Carr is pressured (which is often) Pass Defense: Held their own allowing Brunell and company 224 yards through the air completing 15 of 25 including 2 TDs. A pretty solid effort overall. Rush Defense: Didn't really have an answer for the 1-2 punch of Fred Taylor and Stacey Mack. Together, the RBs put up 110 yards on 25 carries.