JACKSONVILLE – All has gone fine this week.

Preparation has been good. The right things have been said. As Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson sees it, what matters far more than those things is what will happen Sunday in Houston.

The Jaguars need a victory. Very much.

"We just have to go play," he said.

Pederson spoke Friday as the Jaguars (0-3) prepared to play the division-leading Houston Texans (1-2) in an AFC South game at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, Sunday at 1 p.m. It's a big game for many reasons – mostly because the Jaguars simply need to win.

The Jaguars follow Sunday's game with an AFC South matchup against the Indianapolis Colts (1-2) at EverBank Stadium October 6.

"They're important for many reasons," Pederson said of the next two games. "One, obviously it's the next game. But two: It's the division. We start we start our division here this weekend and really these next two games. We're trying to just get on track and get these first three games behind us.

"They're all big. They're all important. Guys understand that and they're prepared. They're ready to go."

Pederson said it's "never too early" to emphasis division ramifications.

"I think you have to make sure that the players understand the magnitude, the importance of every football game, especially those in the AFC and now in the AFC South," Pederson said. "It's never too soon to start talking that.

"Our situation is different because we're 0-3. We have to come out and try to play good football."

Pederson said he was pleased with how players approached the week and liked their "mentality, their attitude."

"They're doing and saying the right things, and now it just has to translate onto the field," Pederson said.

NOTABLE

• Tight end Evan Engram (hamstring) and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (foot) missed a third consecutive practice Friday and were ruled out of Sunday's game. Engram has missed the last two games and Oluokun left a loss to the Buffalo Bills this past Monday with the injury. "He's doing well," Pederson said of Engram. "It's a hamstring. They're finicky. Let's call it that. Next week looks promising." Safety Darnell Savage (quadriceps) was among four players listed as questionable on Friday's final injury report. "We'll see," Pederson said of Savage. "Yesterday was a good day. It wasn't a great day. We'll see where he's at today, how he feels." Other Jaguars players listed as questionable for Sunday's game: Wide receiver Gabe Davis (shoulder), rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones (shoulder) and linebacker Devin Lloyd (knee). All other players on the Jaguars’ injury report this week – left tackle Cam Robinson (knee), running back Tank Bigsby (shoulder), right tackle Anton Harrison (knee), cornerback Montaric Brown (chest) and defensive end Arik Armstead (veteran rest) – did not have a Friday status and are therefore expected to be available Sunday.

NOTABLE

• Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen said he believes the Jaguars are close to forcing their first takeaway of the season after tying for fourth in the NFL in 2022 with 27 takeaways and tying for eighth in the NFL with 27 takeaways in 2023. "Last game, the ball's on our hands a couple of times," he said. "The ball's on the ground once early in the game where we could have gotten the ball for the offense in a better field position. It's not of a lack of trying. The guys are very focused on ball awareness, things like that. They're punching the ball out. The concern is if you're not seeing that on the tape. We talk ball disruption. It's a huge part of what we do on defense. Sometimes it just takes one and one leads to two. That's our whole thing. We're working on it. It's been a constant effort in practice. It will happen. Just continue to play within our scheme, play within our fundamentals and techniques, and good things will happen."