Following a miracle win last Sunday in London against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Jacksonville Jaguars opened up AFC South play against the Houston Texans in London for the second straight week.
The Jaguars and Texans split both of their matchups last season, with Houston’s win coming after it erased a 29-10 fourth-quarter deficit by scoring 26 unanswered points.
This year, the two teams were projected to be neck-and-neck for the division title, but the Jaguars entered Sunday 4-1 while Houston was just 1-4. A Jacksonville win would have put the Texans four games behind the Jaguars just six weeks into the season.
The game started with the two teams exchanging punts on the opening drives of the game. On Jacksonville’s second possession, head coach Liam Coen decided to go for it on fourth-and-three, but Trevor Lawrence couldn’t connect with Parker Washington, forcing a turnover on downs.
The ensuing drive lasted just five plays for the Texans, headlined by a 42-yard connectionsfrom C.J. Stroud to Nico Collins before Stroud found tight end Foster Moreau in the back of the end zone for a wide-open six-yard touchdown.
The Jaguars appeared to have answered with a short one-yard Bhayshul Tuten touchdown run, but the play was called back after Brenton Strange was flagged for holding. Two plays later, Lawrence was intercepted in the end zone by Calen Bullock.
Jacksonville forced a three-and-out before finally getting on the board as Lawrence connected with Tuten for a 27-yard touchdown pass, the first of two touchdowns on the day for Tuten.
After forcing the Texans to kick a field goal to go ahead 10-7, the Jaguars drove down the field and took a 14-10 lead with Lawrence finding Tuten on a two-yard touchdown with 55 seconds remaining in the half.
However, Houston needed just 43 seconds to respond. Stroud completed a 50-yard pass to Jaylin Noel to put the Texans comfortably in field goal range. The next play was a 17-yard pass interference on Travis Hunter that put the Texans on the one-yard line, where Stroud found Moreau for his second touchdown of the half.
The first half for the Jaguars’ offense was marred by drops. Brian Thomas Jr. dropped two passes and didn’t play a snap in the second half. His first drop helped end Jacksonville’s opening possession, while his second missed opportunity late in the half would have moved the Jaguars into position for a long field-goal.
Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers also recorded drops, adding to a frustrating day for a Jacksonville receiving corps that left multiple opportunities on the field.
Houston started the second half with an eight-play touchdown drive as Stroud found Noel for his third passing touchdown of the day, giving the Texans a 24-14 lead.
The teams exchanged punts, and then the two teams combined to score on all but one of their remaining drives of the day. Lawrence found rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher in the end zone for a one-yard touchdown, the first of his NFL career.
Jawhar Jordan responded with a 25-yard touchdown run, the longest run the Jaguars’ defense had allowed all season.
Lawrence then connected with Hunter for a seven-yard touchdown before, on Houston’s next possession, Hunter intercepted Stroud in the end zone.
In a span of two possessions, Hunter made an impact on both sides of the ball. He became the first NFL player since 2002 to record a receiving touchdown and an interception in the same game.
Down 31-28, the Jaguars’ offense took over after the Hunter interception, but the Texans defense held them to a game-tying 60-yard field goal from Cam Little.
Little drilled the kick, tying the game with two minutes remaining. The Jaguars needed one final stop to force overtime, but they couldn’t get it.
Stroud connected with Woody Marks for 19 yards on the opening play of Houston’s final drive, and the Texans continued to work their way into field goal range. Ka’imi Fairbairn ended the game with a 49-yard field goal, handing Jacksonville a 34-31 loss.
Jacksonville finished the day with 412 total yards and Lawrence threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns, but the early missed opportunities proved costly. A negated touchdown, an end-zone interception, dropped passes and critical penalties kept the Jaguars from finding any advantage.
The Jaguars will enter the bye at 4-2 with with a two-game lead in the AFC South. The first six weeks were widely viewed as the hardest stretch of Jacksonville’s schedule, and the Jaguars emerged from it with four wins despite Sunday’s missed opportunity.
Jacksonville will return on November 1 against the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium.
The Colts have struggled mightily in Jacksonville, having last won there in 2014. Jacksonville has won 11 consecutive home games against Indianapolis.
Though six games, Lawrence is tied for the NFL lead with 14 touchdown passes. Jacksonville is also eighth in the league in scoring at 25.7 points per game.
Despite allowing a season-high 34 points Sunday, the Jaguars’ defense still ranks third in the NFL in scoring defense at 17.3 points allowed per game.
