Texans vs. Jaguars 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know

The Houston Texans have a 5-3 record, but they’ve been outscored by opponents 167-137 this season. Brock Osweiler’s team can work on fixing that skew Sunday when it travels to face AFC South bottom dweller Jacksonville.

The Jaguars teased improvement after an early surge turned an 0-3 start into a 2-3 record, but another three-game losing streak has stranded the team in a familiar position. Jacksonville has only escaped the bottom half of a perpetually underwhelming division once since 2008 — a 2010 season whose 8-8 campaign stands as the team’s only non-losing year in the stretch. While third-year passer Blake Bortles has pumped up his resume with gaudy stats (4,428 passing yards, 35 passing touchdowns in 2015), that play hasn’t led to a revival in Florida.

Jacksonville’s wins are now less about a march to the playoffs and more about saving head coach Gus Bradley’s job. Bradley is in his fourth season with the club and has never won more than five games in a season. Now his seat is the hottest in the NFL, and a loss on Sunday could be his last in teal and black.

Houston, on the other hand, is in the middle of a playoff push but has several questions to answer before the regular season ends. At +4000, the Texans don’t even have the best Super Bowl odds in their own division — that honor belongs to the 4-5 Colts. Osweiler needs to jump start a flagging offense and prove his team’s hot start and place atop the South aren’t just a house of cards.

How to watch and stream

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Place: EverBank Field, Jacksonville

TV: CBS

Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon

Online: Sunday Ticket

The More You Know: Jaguars fans can check out Big Cat Country. For Texans fans, Battle Red Blog is your destination.

1. Brock Osweiler has been one of the league’s worst starting quarterbacks in 2016. Houston made a splash by signing the former Bronco, but its four-year, $72 million investment has yet to pay off. Osweiler ranks 30th among the league’s 32 qualified starters when it comes to quarterback rating. Only three starters throw for fewer yards per game than his 215.

It’s not like Osweiler doesn’t have effective targets downfield. DeAndre Hopkins managed a 1,521-yard campaign with Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates, and Brandon Weeden as his quarterbacks in 2015. This season, the former All-Pro is on pace for nearly 700 fewer receiving yards. Will Fuller has also shown flashes of brilliance as a rookie deep threat.

2. Houston has managed to harass quarterbacks, even without J.J. Watt. The Texans lost their Defensive MVP to a back injury this season, but have remained stout up front. Houston has procured sacks on nearly 6.6 percent of its plays this season, good for 11th in the league. That rush and a solid secondary led by Johnathan Joseph and Andre Hal have limited opposing passers to just an 82.8 rating. As a result, quarterbacks facing the Texans wind up performing like, well, Blake Bortles.

3. T.J. Yeldon may be primed for a breakout. Yeldon has struggled in his first two seasons with an ineffective Jacksonville offense, but has shown signs of life in recent weeks. He’s averaged 4.7 yards per attempt in limited touches since Week 4 and has emerged as a reliable pass catcher out of the backfield. The Jaguars need all the weapons they can get, and the second-year Bama product could be just the answer they’re looking for.