Battle of the bad: Houston Texans sweep season series against Jacksonville Jaguars
In a showdown between two of the worst records in the NFL, the Texans came out victorious — and cleared the path to the Jaguars holding the No. 1 draft pick in April 2022.
Houston doubled up on wins against the Jaguars, sweeping the season series as they beat Jacksonville 30-16 on Sunday.
The Texans swung momentum in their favor thanks to a 98-yard kickoff return by Tremon Smith in the first quarter. Smith squirted through a tight window and outsprinted the rest of the Jaguars special teams’ players to the end zone. The play did dual damage to the Jaguars as starting safety Rayshawn Jenkins was hurt on the play and never returned to the game after.
From there the Texans fended off all attempts to usurp them by Jacksonville and gutted out a victory with a ravaged roster. Houston’s win was the first time the Texans have scored 30 or more points since their season opening win against Jacksonville in September.
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Rookie quarterback Davis Mills was 19-of-30 passing for 209 yards and seemed to find his receivers at key instances, none more key than the 43-yard screen pass to Brandin Cooks for a touchdown on the Texans’ last drive. It came on a crucial third down for Houston and helped seal the game.
“I think we handled their pressure extremely well,” said Mills, who got his first win as a starter on Sunday. “… I felt like our team fought through the adversity, really that everyone is facing around the league.”
The Texans were missing multiple players due to health and safety protocols and had four defensive starters out of the game. They still forced Jacksonville into a lackluster offensive performance.
Houston got pressure on Trevor Lawrence throughout the day. They had four quarterback hits and three sacks. Even when Lawrence tried to make plays with his legs, a Texans player wasn’t too far away to bottle him up.
Lawrence finished 22-of-38 for 210 yards but still failed to register a touchdown. He received praise from the Texans defense after the performance.
“We did a good job of keeping him in the pocket,” defensive back Eric Murray said. “He’s a good player, he just needs experience and he’ll get that. But he’s still a good player at the end of the day.”
Cooks credited the Jaguars for their effort in the contest.
“They came out and played a hard, tough game,” Cooks said. “I don’t think the score really matched what type of game it was. They did a good job stopping us here and there and moving the ball.”
With the win, Houston pulls ahead in the division and behind Jacksonville in the draft order, where the Jaguars take over the top spot. The Texans take on the Chargers next week while Jacksonville will face the Jets.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Texans beat Jaguars in battle between 2 of NFL's worst teams
