It’s all right in front of them now. The AFC South title and perhaps a lot more.
Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars know what they’re capable of and they continue to find ways to deliver. On Sunday, Lawrence had one of the best passing games of his career and the Jaguars edged the Texans when a game-tying 58-yard field goal by Matt Ammendola clanged off the crossbar to wrap up a 24-21 win at NRG Stadium.
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That victory gives the Jaguars a two-game buffer in the AFC South and keeps the team in the conversation for the top seed in the conference. The Jaguars are 8-3 and headed back home for a Monday night showdown with the Bengals next week.
Lawrence passed for 364 yards — just 4 yards off his career best — and a touchdown and ran for another, outdueling red-hot rookie of the year candidate C.J. Stroud in a clash that lived up to the hype, and one that promises to be the AFC South’s best in the coming years. Unlike last year when Jacksonville needed to play perfect football to cap a nine-win season and win the AFC South in Week 18, this year is far different.
“... For us to be able to continue to control our own destiny, it’s up to us and how we play. We just keep winning, we don’t have anything to worry about,” Lawrence said. “We’re going to find ourselves in a good spot. I think in that sense, it’s a huge game. Sending a message, I don’t know about that, but I think to take more control of this division and take that next step and solidify ourselves, I think it’s a huge game, and we did a great job finding a way to win.”
It was also a bit of sweet redemption and another reminder that these aren’t just the same old Jaguars from seasons past. Even in wins throughout the first half of the season, the Jaguars had been tabbed as a team that struggled to finish games with authority. The past two weeks have shown that Jacksonville is becoming that team.
“Our guys battled for 60 minutes. We knew it was going to be a tough football game,” said Jaguars coach Doug Pederson. “It’s a really good football team here in Houston that plays tough, plays hard and plays until the end. Our guys learned how to — we’re learning how to finish, and really proud of our guys for the way they hung in there today.”
The Texans had been on a meteoric rise since a 37-17 blowout of the Jaguars in Week 3 and could have taken the division lead with a season sweep. Instead, the Jaguars stayed hot, winning for the seventh time in eight games to put a bit of separation between them and surging Houston.
While Stroud, the Ohio State product, diced the Jaguars up in the first meeting of the season and did his best to weave together a fourth-quarter comeback in the rematch, it was Lawrence who delivered.
He hit Calvin Ridley on a 1-yard touchdown pass with 4 minutes, 34 seconds to play in the third quarter, then connected with Ridley on the two-point try to put the Jaguars in front for good at 21-14. That lead stretched to 10 early in the fourth quarter but Houston didn’t slow down and pushed Jacksonville to the very end.
It was a battle until the finish
Brandon McManus had been automatic throughout the season and had nailed three field goals already Sunday. Up 24-14, Jacksonville trotted him out for his fourth kick of the game, a 55-yarder with 7:10 to play. But McManus pulled it wide right, and the Texans responded. Stroud marched Houston 55 yards in five plays, a big chunk coming on a 34-yard field flipper to Bartram Trail High School graduate Xavier Hutchinson.
Three plays later, Stroud tossed a 17-yard touchdown to Nico Collins and Houston (6-5) was right back in the game at 24-21. It forced Jacksonville to punt and that put the ball in Stroud’s hands with 3:01 left to author a potential game-winning or game-tying drive.
The defense, strafed by Stroud in the first meeting, stood tall. Josh Allen had a sack and a half on the final drive and Stroud’s third-down pass to Devin Singletary was off target, forcing the long field goal try with just 34 seconds left. It caromed off the crossbar and Jacksonville escaped with a much-needed win that stretched its record away from EverBank Stadium to 6-0 this year.
“You know, you take every win and every loss humbly, and that’s what we’ve got to do. It’s a great win for our team. Yeah, puts us a few games up, and that was our goal this week, obviously,” Pederson said.
In a career year, Allen had one of the best games of his five years in the league. He pressured Stroud throughout the game and finished with 2.5 sacks for 31.5 yards lost. Allen sacked Stroud for a loss of 15 on the final drive, then teamed with Travon Walker for another sack three plays later. Allen has 12 sacks this season and moved into second place behind Tony Brackens for the franchise lead in career sacks. Allen has 39.5 career sacks, a number that trails only Brackens’ 55.
Stroud is tough
The AFC South has two emerging stars in Lawrence and Stroud.
While Stroud didn’t engineer a win, his play is a glimpse of the future for Houston. Stroud frustrated Jacksonville defenders throughout the game by extending plays with his feet, letting his receivers get open and finding them for big gains as the defense broke down.
On his first touchdown pass to Tank Dell, Stroud bounced around the pocket and went to his left before getting a defender to bite on the run and then whipping the ball to Dell who had just crossed the goal line. His ability to extend plays and let his receivers run free like a game of backyard football worked. And Jacksonville had to respect his mobility. Stroud led Houston in rushing with 47 yards.
“I want the teams in our division to be as bad as possible, so that’s how I see it, and the way they’re playing, it’s exciting, yes, there’s going to be some — I’m sure some great match-ups down the road, and C.J. is playing lights out. He’s doing a great job,” Lawrence said.
Questionable call and no call
A big sequence in the final minute of the first half felt like a massive swing of momentum. Ammendola pulled a 50-yard field goal right and left Jacksonville the ball with 20 seconds to go at its own 40.
A Lawrence pass to Christian Kirk went 57 yards all the way down to the 1 with just a second left on the clock. Pederson elected to play for the touchdown and called a pitch play to Travis Etienne. It was smothered for no gain and the Jaguars held on to a 13-7 lead that felt like it should have been significantly more.
“I was going for it the whole way. You make a play like that and you’ve got them back on the ropes, and if you can get the seven points there and get the ball to start the second half, those should be favorable opportunities,” Pederson said.
The next questionable call came courtesy of an official on tight end Evan Engram on Jacksonville’s opening drive of the second half. He was held up on a passing route and couldn’t get a hand on a Lawrence pass, which went right into the arms of Derek Stingley Jr. Replays showed a clear hold, but it wasn’t flagged. Stroud used the good field position to get Houston into the end zone in seven plays and a 14-13 lead. Stroud finished 26 of 36 passing for 304 yards and scoring passes to Dell and Collins. Stroud also rushed for a touchdown.
Big injury for Jaguars
The offensive line was coming off its best game of the season against the Titans, but another injury appears that it won’t be intact for long.
Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson left after going down after a Lawrence incompletion in the first quarter and suffered a knee injury. Robinson was seen on the sideline with tears in his eyes and wrapping a towel around his face. He didn’t return.
Walker Little slid over to replace Robinson and newly acquired Ezra Cleveland went to Little’s left guard spot. Cleveland was big on one of Jacksonville’s best plays of the game, a Lawrence screen pass to D’Ernest Johnson. Cleveland was the lead blocker on the play, and he opened up a huge swath of the field. Johnson took the pass 42 yards down the Houston 8. Lawrence’s touchdown sneak four plays later put the Jaguars in front 10-0. Etienne left with a chest injury in the second quarter but returned. Etienne had little room to run against a swarming Texans defense. He finished with 56 yards on 20 carries.
The offensive line didn’t allow a sack for the second week in a row.