The Jacksonville Jaguars came out on top of a high-stakes matchup for AFC South supremacy Sunday, getting a 24-21 win over the Houston Texans in a Week 12 nail-biter.
With the win, the Jaguars are now 8-3 and two games up on the second place Texans with seven weeks left in the regular season. Jacksonville is also just a win in Week 18 over the Tennessee Titans away from guaranteeing the tiebreaker over any other team in the division.
The Jaguars jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the game, but a wild swing of momentum in the final seconds of the first half and the opening minutes of the second half changed things quickly. After the Texans took a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter, Jacksonville scored 11 straight to get back in front by double-digits.
Houston closed the gap with a touchdown and had a chance to drive into field goal range in the final minutes, but the Jaguars defense forced the Texans to settle for a 58-yard try from a kicker who has never made a field goal from 50-plus. It bounced off the crossbar and Jacksonville left with a win.
Here’s how Jacksonville’s consequential, thrilling Week 12 road win at NRG Stadium went down:
Jaguars MVP of the game: QB Trevor Lawrence
While he racked up 364 passing yards, Lawrence’s statistics Sunday don’t quite show how stellar he was for most of the day against the Texans. He finished with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown, an interception, and a 90.2 passer rating.
What the stats don’t show is a beautiful pass from Lawrence that was dropped by Calvin Ridley instead of getting hauled in for a 30-yard score, and an egregious pass interference that was missed and caused the interception.
Texans MVP of the game: QB C.J. Stroud
The Jaguars’ pass rush was forcing Stroud to move around, but they struggled to wrangle the Texans’ elusive rookie quarterback. The slippery passer finished 26-of-36 passing for 304 yards with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.
Jaguars play of the game: Calvin Ridley's go-ahead touchdown
Lawrence to Ridley for the @Jaguars lead!
📺: #JAXvsHOU on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/1dOevJjoZZ pic.twitter.com/84SSznjLxv— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2023
After a couple defensive penalties called on Houston put the Jaguars on the doorstep, a stuffed run on first down and an incomplete pass on second down had Jacksonville in a stressful spot. Miss on third down and Doug Pederson would have another tough call to make near the goal line.
Lawrence removed the need by finding Ridley in the back of the end zone and then pushed the lead to seven by hitting Ridley again for a two-point conversion.
It was over when ... the Texans' Matt Ammendola missed a 58-yarder to tie
The Texans were this close to tying the game on a 58-yard field goal. #JAXvsHOU pic.twitter.com/w5P2AAg2Nj
— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2023
The Jaguars’ defense forced the Texans to settle for a much longer field goal than Matt Ammendola had ever made in his NFL career. The fifth-year kicker gave it his all on a 58-yard try but it came up short by inches to seal the deal.
Stat that says it all: 445 yards of total offense for the Jaguars
In a game that was largely defined by momentum swings and questionable officiating, the bottom line is that the Jaguars did a lot more than the Texans.
Jacksonville converted seven of 13 third downs, punted only twice, and out-gained Houston by nearly 100 yards of offense.
What's next?
The Jaguars play three straight games against AFC North opponents, beginning with a Monday Night Football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Week 13 home game will be the first Monday night game for the Jaguars since the 2011 season.
Cincinnati lost its starting quarterback, Joe Burrow, for the year to a wrist injury earlier this month and fell to 5-6 with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
