During the Houston Texans' 7–29 season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson recorded six combined tackles. On September 14, Jackson caused rookie Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver John Ross to fumble, which teammate Jadeveon Clowney recovered and returned for 49 yards to set up the Texans' offense on a field goal scoring drive. He was thrown into the starting lineup after Johnathan Joseph left during the second quarter with a shoulder injury and Kevin Johnson left after suffering a MCL sprain. Jackson led the Texans with seven combined tackles and had his first career sack on Bengals' quarterback Andy Dalton. Jackson remained a starter, in the absence of Kevin Johnson, who was out for four-six weeks.
