Texans edge Jaguars

By Elwyn Henderson

The 2-1 Houston Texans returned to NRG Stadium in Houston Sunday hoping to bounce back from their 34-7 loss in Minnesota a week earlier as they entertained the 0-3 Jacksonville Jaguars. It was the kind of game Texans fans were worried about, as even the worst team in the NFL has stars and pride in their team. The fear was that with the Jags coming in with a chip on their shoulder it could be a trap game for Houston.
The Texans won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked the ball into the end zone and Jacksonville began their first drive at their 30 following a touchback.
Trevor Lawrence led his unit up to the 45 and the Houston defense forced a Logan Cooke punt. The ball was muffed at about the Houston 6 by Steven Sims and the ball was recovered by Daniel Thomas at the 2 and the Jags were set up to take an early lead.
They did exactly that when Lawrence hit Brian Thomas, Jr. with 12:44 left in the first quarter on a 2-yard TD pass on the first play after the turnover. Cam Little added the PAT and Jacksonville took an early 7-0 lead.
After a touchback of Little’s kickoff following the score CJ Stroud and the Texans offense hit the field for the first time.
Stroud led the offense into the end zone on a 9-play, 70-yard drive that took 5:21 off the clock. Fairbairn came in and added the point after and the game was tied 7-7 with 7:23 left in the quarter. The score came on a 6-yard TD run by Stefon Diggs.
Fairbairn’s next kickoff also resulted in a touchback and Lawrence brought his offense back on the field
The visitors moved down the field and deep into Houston territory, but the defense forced a 41-yard Little field goal. The kick was good and the Jags took the lead again, 10-7 with 2:41 left in the first frame. The drive was 9 plays, 54 yards and took 4:42.
The Texans began their next possession on the 30 after another touchback. Stroud moved the team down to the Jags 43 but an incomplete pass on 3rd down resulted in a Tommy Townsend punt that was fair caught at the Jacksonville 10. The defense forced a three-and-out, and after a fair catch of Cooke’s punt, Stroud went back to work at his 26.
Stroud drove the team the 74 yards into the end zone for the second Houston TD of the game over 12 plays and 7:27. The score came on a 3-yard TD pass to Nico Collins with 7:19 left in the first half. Fairbairn split the uprights on the extra point and Houston went back into the lead 14-10.
The ensuing Fairbairn was returned from the 2 up to the 26 and Lawrence brought his unit out again. The drive stalled at the Texans 34 and Little came in and tagged a 52-yard field goal with 3:49 left in the half, bringing the score to 14-13 in favor of Houston. The drive was 6 plays, 39 yards and took 3:30 off the second quarter clock.
The next Houston possession began at their 29 after yet another touchback. Stroud moved the offense down the field successfully, despite two penalties. The fans were hoping for a score and the chance to get a 2 for 1. Stroud moved them down to the Jax 12 and with 5 seconds left in the half Fairbairn came in to attempt a 30-yard field goal. The kick was good and Houston extended their lead to 17-13 with 3 seconds left in the half. The drive was 11 plays, 59 yards and took 3:46.
After a touchback Lawrence took a knee and the half ended.
Houston failed to get a sustained drive going in their first two possessions of the second half. The Jaguars couldn’t get anything rolling in their first possession of the third quarter but Lawrence got his offense moving on their second possession of the half. He led his charges down the field with precision. The drive ended with 6:16 left in the quarter when Lawrence hit Christian Kirk on an 8-yard TD pass, capping off a 7-play, 74-yard drive that took exactly 4 minutes of clock time. Little added the extra point and Jacksonville went back ahead 20-17.
Houston’s next possession began on their 30 after a touchback of Little’s kickoff after the score. They managed only one first down and had to punt the ball back to the Jags with 4:32 left in the third frame. The ball was downed at the 12 after Townsend’s punt and Lawrence went to work again.
The visitors wasted little time moving down the field and looked as though they would find the end zone again following a 58-yard run by Tank Bigsby down to the Houston 4, but the goal line defense came through and stuffed Lawrence on a quarterback draw from the Houston 1 and the ball turned over on downs.
The teams exchanged punts for most of the third and fourth quarter, as neither team could get a sustained drive going. Finally, with a possession that began with under 2:54 left in the game. Stroud led the home team into the red zone, and Houston faced a 2nd and goal from the 1 with 22 seconds left and no time outs left. On the next play Stroud hit Dare Ogunbowale for a 1 yard TD with 18 seconds left in the game. Fairbairn hit the extra point and Houston led 24-20 in what was to be the only score in the second half.
The Jaguars ran 2 plays and the game ended. The win moved Houston to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in AFC South play while the loss kept the hapless Jaguars winless at 0-4.