Texans Lose David Montgomery and Jalen Pitre for London Trip

The Houston Texans just handed the Tennessee Titans a 26-3 beatdown, but the victory lap is already getting cut short by the trainer's room. According to Adam Schefter, running back David Montgomery and safety Jalen Pitre are officially skipping the team flight to London and have been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Head coach DeMeco Ryans hit the media with the classic "week-to-week" label for both guys. In NFL coach-speak, that is the medical equivalent of telling your boss you will circle back on an email. It basically means neither guy is playing this weekend, but the team refuses to commit to putting them on injured reserve just yet.

"Adam Schefter reported the players will not travel to London."

Montgomery exiting in the second quarter last week with a groin issue is arguably the worst possible news for a backfield. A groin injury for a running back who makes a living absorbing contact is basically a check-engine light on a high-mileage sedan. You can try to ignore it, but eventually, you are going to end up stranded. He had been a reliable grinder since coming over in a March trade from the Detroit Lions, logging 138 yards and two touchdowns on 52 carries through five games.

On the other side of the ball, Pitre is nursing a shoulder injury. He is the enforcer in the Houston secondary, racking up 24 tackles and five pass breakups in five starts this season. Taking his aggressive tackling out of the lineup leaves a massive dent in a defense that now has to figure out how to slow down a first-place Jacksonville offense.

This double blow completely shifts the math for anyone holding Texans tickets. The 4-1 Jaguars are already sitting as a 2.5-point favorite for the London game, and losing two key starters does not exactly inspire confidence for Houston backers. Meanwhile, fantasy managers need to be sprinting to the waiver wire to grab whoever is next up in the Houston rotation.

The only silver lining for Houston is that they are coming off a blowout win where everything clicked, giving them a tiny bit of breathing room in the AFC South. Until we get real practice reports next week, expect Montgomery and Pitre to be wearing sweatpants on the sideline while their teammates deal with the jet lag.