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Houston QB Brian Hoyer to start against Jaguars

The Houston Texans are looking to make a move to the postseason with a win today against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Steelers beat Browns 28-12, slide into AFC playoffs
The Steelers (10-6) earned a wild-card berth as a result of their win and the Buffalo Bills’ 22-17 victory over the New York Jets. This is a lot of points to lay on a road team but the Browns aren’t going to match what Ben Roethlisberger and Co.do offensively.

ABOUT THE JAGUARS (5-10): The 23-year-old Bortles can set another club record Sunday as he needs 179 passing yards to eclipse Mark Brunell’s single-season mark of 4,367, which he totaled in 1996. The Texans will try to exploit mismatches against the Jaguars’ cornerbacks but might pay extra attention to grinding out yards on the ground entering the playoffs with a lowly 3.6-yard average as a team.


Jets loss to Bills sends Pittsburgh into AFC playoffs
Pettine enters with a 10-21 record , a mark made worse by the Browns’ disappointing performance on defense this season. However, a Steelers win coupled with a Jets loss to Buffalo would propel the Black and Gold into the playoff picture .

The Texans come into the game on 8-7 and have done well this season despite having to overcome various injuries and challenges throughout; in particular their struggles to find consistency at quarterback have hampered them repeatedly.


Saudis cut ties with Iran following Shiite cleric execution
However, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Shia cleric had been executed for his opposition to Saudi Arabia’s Sunni rulers. Hundreds of protesters later demonstrated in front of the embassy and in a central Tehran square.

In Sunday’s 30-6 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Watt was at his best. “Boy, you don’t hear that very often, number of quarterbacks they’ve gone to”. They’ve surrendered the fewest first downs per game, the second-lowest third-down conversion rate and boast the highest sack percentage in that span. Five of their eight opponents during this stretch have scored zero or one touchdowns.

“I’m just a big white guy trying to have some fun out there”, Watt said. The consistent playing time has paid off and Clowney has 3 ½ sacks in that span after getting just one previously. Over their last three games they are the worst in the National Football League, with 291.3 yards allowed on average. With starter T.J. Yeldon (knee) unlikely to play, and Toby Gerhart, Bernard Pierce and Corey Grant on injured reserve, Gray could get the bulk of the work.

Weeden will back Hoyer up on Sunday. We can assume that defensive coordinator Bob Babich won’t be so lucky.

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Even though Brandon Weeden played well the past two weeks for the banged-up Texans, Houston’s offense will get a boost today when Brian Hoyer returns for the first time since suffering two concussions in less than a month.

John Sommers  Icon Sportswire