Jaguars hold off Texans, have complete control of AFC South with 24-21 victory in Week 12

HOUSTON — A "Battle Red" day indeed.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3) were seeing red after the team dropped its Week 3 matchup against the Houston Texans (6-5) at EverBank Stadium on Sept. 24.

On Sunday, the Jaguars got revenge, defeating the Texans 24-21 at NRG Stadium after a last-minute field goal attempt by Houston came up just short, hitting the cross bar with only seconds left in the game.

Postgame recap: Jacksonville Jaguars edge Houston Texans, last-minute FG hits crossbar

A highly-anticipated matchup between quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Trevor Lawrence was as advertised as both quarterbacks were able to get the job done through the air for most of the day.

With 3:13 remaining, the Jaguars lined up on third-and-7 from the Houston 46-yard line. Lawrence dropped back to throw the ball deep downfield to receiver Zay Jones, who came up with the grab but couldn't keep both feed inbounds.

Jacksonville was forced to punt the ball, giving the Texans an opportunity to either tie the game or take the lead with the Jaguars leading 24-21 at the time.

The Texans drove 50 yards. With a 4th-and-12 decision, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans opted to try for a 58-yard field goal to tie it. Texans kicker Matt Ammendola didn't have enough leg with the ball hitting the middle of the crossbar, and bouncing out. With no timeouts remaining, the Jaguars took one knee to end the game.

Prior to the game, the Jaguars ruled out both cornerback Tyson Campbell and defensive lineman DaVon Hamilton. Campbell continues to deal with a hamstring injury first suffered in Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts and re-aggravated in Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Hamilton, who missed 10 weeks during the pre-and regular season with a back ailment, is sitting for a second straight week as a healthy scratch. Hamilton is working on getting his burst back after missing so much time.

Lawrence, Stroud put on a show at NRG Stadium

Lawrence had one of the best performances of his career, going 23-for-38 for 364 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Lawrence also ran the ball in from one yard out for a score, his third rushing touchdown in two weeks.

Lawrence completed multiple deep throws, including a couple to both receiver Christian Kirk and Calvin Ridley. Kirk ended the game catching four passes for 89 yards, while Ridley finished with five receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Lawrence's four completions of more than 40 yards in a game was the first time it was done in the NFL since 2020.

On the other side of the field, C.J. Stroud also had a good outing, completing 26-of-36 passes for 304 yards and two passing touchdowns, as well as six runs for 47 yards and a rushing score.

Derek Stingley interception leads to C.J. Stroud run-in touchdown

The first turnover of the game couldn’t have come at a more costly time for Jacksonville. On their opening drive of the second half, the Jaguars looked to retain their momentum, shaking off the end-of-half decision made by Pederson to go for it on first-and-1 from the 1 with one second remaining rather than kicking a field goal.

Instead, the Jaguars turned the ball over for the first time Sunday with an interception by Texans cornerback Derek Stingley, who was covering tight end Evan Engram. It appeared that Engram was held, but no flag was thrown. Houston went down to score on a Stroud one-yard touchdown run, taking a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter.

Cam Robinson exits game with left knee injury

Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson slammed his helmet down as he walked gingerly over to the team’s blue medical tent on the first play of the second drive of the game. Robinson went down with what the team described as a left knee injury. His return was ruled as questionable before being ruled out after halftime.

Left guard Walker Little moved over to Robinson’s spot at left tackle while recently-acquired guard Ezra Cleveland manned the guard position the rest of the game.

Robinson’s injury is to his left knee, the same one that cost him most of the 2018 season due to a torn ACL. Robinson hurt his right knee last year, a meniscus injury.

Lawrence scores on the ground, Pederson gambles at the end of half

The Jaguars didn’t post a perfect first half against Houston by any stretch, but quickly went up 10-0 during the second quarter thanks to a one-yard sneak by Lawrence. Lawrence posted a first-half stat line of 10-of-16 for 216 yards and one rushing touchdown.

The Jaguars were successful on third down during the first half, converting 5 of 8. They out-gained Houston 247 to 169 yards.

With just 10 seconds remaining in the first half, Lawrence completed a 57-yard catch-and-run to receiver Christian Kirk to the Houston one-yard line. With one second remaining, Pederson had a choice about whether to go up 16-7 with a chip-shot field goal or opt to go for it, potentially making it 20-7.

He chose the latter, but a toss play to running back Travis Etienne did not work out, leaving Jacksonville with nothing to enter halftime with a 13-7 lead.

Josh Allen moves into second all-time in franchise history with 38 career sacks

Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen has plenty to play for this season, the final year of his contract after being drafted by the team in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

He entered the game with 37 career sacks, just a half-sack shy of Yannick Ngakoue's 37.5 sacks with the Jaguars. In the third quarter, Allen came unblocked, sacking Stroud to force a Texans punt. He also sacked Stroud near the end of the fourth quarter, tying a sack with Travon Walker a couple of plays later.

He now has 12 sacks this year, tying a career-high, and has 39.5 career sacks with Jacksonville, the second-most all-time in team history. Only Jaguars legend Tony Brackens has more sacks (55) in his career with Jacksonville.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82.

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