Quarterback Trevor Lawrence ran for a touchdown and passed for another as the Jaguars lost a halftime lead then regained it – and held it – with a gutty second half en route to a critical 24-21 AFC South victory over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium Sunday afternoon.
"This was a great road win for us to come in here and do what we did today," Head Coach Doug Pederson said, with Lawrence adding: "This was a huge division game.
Texans kicker Matt Ammendola's 58-yard field goal attempt bounced off the crossbar with :29 remaining, securing the Jaguars' seventh victory in eight games.
Lawrence said he watched Ammendola's kick, calling it "stressful."
"It was a huge game," Lawrence said. "We did a great job finding a way to win. That's a really good team. We anticipated it being a four-quarter game. Those types of games are important, because that's the way games get at the end of the year. You're going to get everbody's best every week.
The trade for Ezra Cleveland is already paying off for the Jaguars. Losing your starting left tackle is never ideal, but the Jaguars were able to score a touchdown on the following drive in large part because of the offensive depth that the Cleveland trade provided then. With Robinson on the background, the Jaguars were able to move Walker Little to his natural position at left tackle, setting Cleveland up to take over at left guard.
The Jaguars took a 13-7 halftime lead before the Texans rallied for a one-point third-quarter lead – a lead the Jaguars negated on the next possession when Lawrence passed for a short touchdown to wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Lawrence followed that with a two-point pass to Ridley.
That gave the Jaguars a 21-14 lead late in the third quarter, a lead they extended on a drive that covered the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. That ended with a 53-yard field goal by McManus that made it 24-14, with 11:20 remaining.
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