Jaguars 24, Texans 21: Game Balls

Which Jaguars stood out the most in Sunday's win over the Houston Texans?

The Jacksonville Jaguars bested the Houston Texans 24-21 in nail-biting fashion on Sunday, so let’s all take a moment to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Whew.

At 8-3, the Jaguars have firmly entrenched themselves in the AFC South’s top position, while their defeat of the Texans has knocked them down to 6-5. With the Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills improving to 6-5 and 7-5 respectively this weekend, their playoff hopes remain alive though an appearance is far from guaranteed.

The second chapter in the young rivalry brewing between C.J. Stroud and Trevor Lawrence ended in a win for the good guys, and split the season series between the divisional opponents. It was an occasionally frustrating, but altogether incredibly productive, performance from the Jaguars' offense and one of the defense’s more impressive showings of the season.

As a team, the Jaguars sacked Stroud four times and recorded seven quarterback pressures. Time and time again, especially in the second half, it was the difference between a chunk play and a loss of yards; each side of the ball, including special teams, made timely plays to stiff-arm a potential comeback bid by Houston.

Timely contributions from wide receivers Calvin Ridley and Christian Kirk helped the Jaguars reestablish a 10-point cushion in the third quarter. Inversely, multiple mistakes from the two playmakers nearly let Houston back into the game as the third quarter wound down.

From there the defense allowed 126 fourth-quarter yards of offense to the Stroud-led Texans, but multiple sacks ultimately doomed the surging Houston offense. Despite having three drives in the fourth, they could only muster seven points to show for it.

It was a close one to say the least; as relief kicker Matt Ammendola’s 58-yard try fell inches short of sending the contest to overtime, one can only imagine the feeling on the Jaguars sideline. It must’ve been a fairly entertaining flight home to Jacksonville.

As is always the case, especially in games like these, each Jaguar played a part though some rose above the rest. With everything on the line–first place in the AFC South and the top seed in the entire AFC–these three Jaguars stepped up, and showed out.

Allow me to introduce Sunday’s finest.

Offense: QB Trevor Lawrence

On Sunday, Trevor Lawrence did something that only a very small percentage of people on this planet can do–let alone quarterbacks in the NFL. With everything and everyone around him struggling, Lawrence made plays to elevate the Jaguars offense and out-gain the Texans’ prolific passing attack.

The final score hardly does him justice.

Though an interception soured an otherwise perfect performance, Lawrence finished the day with 364 passing yards and two total touchdowns. While it wasn’t his most efficient outing–his 60.5% completion percentage is his third-lowest mark of the season–it was easily one of his most prolific.

His 364 passing yards were his most in a game this season, and the most he’s thrown for in a game since last December. It’s just the second time the former Clemson Tiger has thrown for 350 yards or more since being drafted in 2021.

While the statistical benchmarks are something to be applauded, their importance cannot be understated. The Jaguars' rushing attack averaged a whopping 2.7 yards per carry, putting immense pressure on the rising star to move the ball with his arm.

All he did was win the game for the Jaguars with back-to-back scoring drives in the second and third quarters. In his second head-to-head matchup with C.J. Stroud, experience trumped excitement and led to a massively important divisional victory for Jacksonville.

Defense: EDGE Josh Allen

Following a Jacksonville punt, C.J. Stroud led the Texans offense onto the field down 24-21 with a perfect opportunity to win the game. A penalty gave Houston an extra 5 yards after a 16-yard scramble moved the chains.

On 2nd and 10, Stroud found running back Devin Singletary for a six-yard gain. Now facing 3rd-and-4, the Jaguars defense buckled yet again and let up a nine-yard pass to tight end Brevin Jordan that moved the line of scrimmage to the Houston 47.

With a fresh set of downs, somebody on the Jacksonville defense had to make a stop; Josh Allen was that Jaguar, and brought down the former Buckeye for a loss of 15. Allen got home yet again just two plays later, combining with former No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker for a drive-killing sack.

It was his magnum opus, his Statue of David… you get the picture.

In total Josh Allen recorded a career-high 12 pressures, four quarterback hits and sacked Stroud 2.5 times en route to yet another monster performance. It’s his fourth multi-sack game of the season, and the ninth of his career.

Taking a step back, it was the most significant game of his career to date; Sunday’s 2.5-sack effort against Houston moved Allen up to second place in total sacks in Jaguars franchise history. With 39.5 to his name, and Tony Bracken’s 55 within his sights, Allen appears poised to go down as one of the finest defenders to ever don the teal and black.

Not too shabby for a quarter–*checks notes*--linebacker if you ask me.

Special Teams: K Brandon McManus

I’ll be honest, it hurt not giving this one to punter Logan Cooke, who made the most of his two punts by downing both within the Houston 20-yard line. Returners Parker Washington and D’Ernest Johnson each notched a 20-yard return that combined, surely would’ve given one of them this week’s Game Ball.

Kicker Brandon McManus, however, is in the midst of his finest season as a professional and that excellence gave the Jaguars a much-needed cushion on Sunday.

Let’s get this one out of the way before we do anything else; I know he missed a field goal from 55 yards out. Despite the fact that a 55-yard field goal try is a veritable country mile by anyone’s standard except Justin Tucker, it came in a clutch situation with an awful lot on the line.

However, nailing his 21st, 22nd and 23rd field goals of the season from 40, 48 and 53 yards respectively should have Jaguars fans jumping for joy. His first gave Jacksonville an early 3-0 lead, while his second and third both established significant leads in crunch time for the Jags.

On Sunday he posted a statline of three field goals made on four attempts and one extra point. To date, he hasn’t missed an extra point since a Oct. 23 bout with the New York Jets last season and leads the Jaguars in scoring with 92 points.

On a grander scale, he’s on pace to shatter his career-best 30-field goal 2015 season, and with 23 through 11 games currently ranks fifth in the NFL in field goals made. It’s easy to forget McManus was cut by the Denver Broncos as recently as last offseason.

McManus is enjoying his best season as a professional in Duval County, and with six games left to play, history looms for the 10-year veteran.