Hopkins-Ramsey a marquee matchup within game
Competitive juices get flowing between elite receiver, corner
When he’s bolting into his routes, Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins doesn’t square off with many cornerbacks willing to challenge him step for step.
That isn’t the case for Jacksonville’s Jalen Ramsey. Unlike meeker corners, Ramsey doesn’t back down to Hopkins.
The marquee matchup between Hopkins, an acrobatic, dangerous target with a penchant for onehanded catches, and Ramsey, a trash-talking, brash, big, fast and bold defensive back, looms large in Sunday’s AFC South clash.
Hopkins looks forward to matching wits and footwork against a corner who doesn’t concede an inch.
“I love it,” Hopkins said Thursday. “He’s competitive. He matches up against me well, better than a lot of other corners.
“I love playing guys that are at that level, at the AllPro level. That’s what I play football for, the challenge to go up against guys like that.”
Although Ramsey has made it a habit to deride opponents, especially during a GQ interview in which he ripped several quarterbacks, along with trading barbs with New England corner Stephon Gilmore and Kansas City return specialist-wide receiver Tyreek Hill, he doesn’t treat Hopkins that way.
Heading into a game with first place on the line, respect is the watchword between Hopkins and Ramsey.
“No, we don’t talk trash to each other,” Hopkins said. “We’ve got a mutual respect. We know when we go out there, it’s time to work.”
‘A big part of the game’
Hopkins already has 44 receptions for 657 yards and three touchdowns. He helped the Texans win in overtime over the Dallas Cowboys with a dramatic, 49-yard spinning catch and run to position kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn for the gamewinning field goal.
At 6-1 and 202 pounds, Ramsey is a larger corner who operates with supreme confidence and outstanding mobility.
“It’s always been a good matchup since Jalen has been in the league,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s a great player. He has all the qualities that you look for in a great corner. He’s got good length, he’s competitive, he has good ball skills, he can run. Hopkins is a great receiver, so it’s a big part of the game.”
Ramsey has 21 tackles and two passes defended while dealing with a sore knee.
That’s not the only thing that’s smarting for Ramsey, who has been unusually reticent in interviews this past week.
His session with Jacksonville reporters Thursday lasted 1 minute, 10 seconds.
He didn’t even have much to say about Hopkins.
“Same as it’s always been,” Ramsey said. “My past two years, y’all have asked me the same question.”
He called Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson an MVP candidate in the GQ interview.
“Really good,” Ramsey said Thursday.
Jags’ defense reeling
Ramsey is understandably bummed. The Jaguars’ once-vaunted defense is crumbling.
Over the past two weeks in consecutive losses to the Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs, the defense yielded a combined 802 yards, 63 points and 49 first downs.
That isn’t all attributable to Ramsey, though. The entire defense has broken down. But that doesn’t diminish the Texans’ regard for Ramsey’s skill.
“He’s competitive, he’s physical, he gets his hands on you,” Texans quarterback coach Sean Ryan said. “I think both of them compete like that. When they play each other, there’s going to be some physical play at the line of scrimmage and down the field, and both guys have won in the past. Each of them has won enough battles, so it makes it a good battle on the outside for those two guys.”
Hopkins is first in the AFC in catches and yards. He’s tied for sixth in the NFL in catches and third in yards. He’s tied for second in the league with 32 receiving first downs.
“Everybody in the stadium knows the ball’s going to him at certain times, and he’s still making those plays,” Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said. “The guy is just relentless, maniacal in how he plays.”
The Jaguars swept the Texans last season. Hopkins caught 11 passes for 135 yards and two TDs in the two games, and Ramsey combined for seven tackles and three passes defensed with no interceptions.
Hopkins gets particularly excited about a game like this one.
“Hop’s one of those guys that steps up his game,” Ryan said. “He’s a playmaker, so that just comes out in him, and I think any time those types of guys go after well-respected corners or good corners, … it brings out their competitive juices. But Hop’s got that every Sunday, so I think it excites him to go against guys that are considered in the upper tier of the league.”