Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston Texans NFL Week 17 2011 Pick

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston Texans NFL Week 17 2011 Pick: The Jaguars are in a world of hurt – they will be without their best player, running back Maurice Jones Drew, without their quarterback, David Garrard, and without much of a hope in getting to the playoffs anyway, because they lost last week to the Washington Redskins a week after losing to the Indianapolis Colts – but I’m telling you there’s a chance!

That chance, and the fact that Houston is awesome at losing, makes the Jaguars a small favorite to win this game – very, very small. In fact, I made this pick earlier in the week when I didn’t know that Jones-Drew would be out again for sure, and I didn’t know that Garrard would be sitting out the season finale. If I had known that, I would have probably gone in a different direction, because despite the Texans choking all season long, and sucking it up, they are keeping Gary Kubiak in tow, and that shows a commitment to this team and these players in a situation they all know. There’s something there for them.

So, the short of it is this. This one is close, and since I made my pick early in the week before the injury report made it that much tougher on the Jags, I thought Jacksonville was the right pick. And because of that, I’m stuck with that pick. I wouldn’t advise anyone to put much on this game, especially with Trent Edwards on one side, and the Texans on the other – but I’ll stick with my pick and bank on the Jags showing up with a chance at post-season play in the distance.

Jacksonville Jaguars (-1) @ Houston Texans