The Texans entered Sunday’s AFC South matchup against Jacksonville with a tremendous opportunity.
Win and the ahead-of-schedule Texans would be sitting in first place in the division with the playoffs in plain view. But the Texans were denied their fourth-straight fourth-quarter comeback Sunday, as their hopes clanged off the crossbar with kicker Matt Ammendola’s missed 58-yard field goal, allowing the Jaguars to escape with a 24-21 win at NRG and a big step in keeping sole possession of the AFC South lead.
“I’m going out there every play, every game trying to win. So, I don’t really think that our season is over at all. It’s a long year. We have six more games to play, seven more games to play. There’s a lot more football left. You can see the trajectory we’re on. We’re taking strides, but we’ve got to play complementary football and play for the offense.”
texans quarterback c.j. stroud
So instead of celebrating the top spot in the division, the Texans are looking up at Jacksonsville (8-3) from third place and left to figure out what needs to be cleaned up as a surging Denver Broncos get set to come into NRG next week.
“Not a missed opportunity for us. Of course, we didn’t play our best, and as I told our guys, you don’t play your best, you don’t execute versus a good team, this is what happens,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, whose team fell to 6-5. “There’s no need to hold our head or sulk about anything. We have to do something about it when we’re out there on the field.
“We have to execute. We have to play better. You play better, you’ll win the game. Today we didn’t deserve to win because we didn’t play good enough.”
The Texans were plagued Sunday by big plays allowed by the Jacksonville offense, the lack of any real offensive rhythm, and seven penalties for minus 49 yards – with most coming on costly penalties in the secondary.
Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence had little pressure from the Texans defensive front, which allowed him time to pick apart the secondary, completing 23 of 38 passes for 364 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s just playing a complete game,” said Texans safety Jalen Pitre. “I think we did a good job of stopping the interior runs and the runs on the perimeter, but we let a couple get aways from us in the passing game.
“It’s just a matter of cleaning up stuff we need to clean up and continue to push forward getting ready for Denver next week.”
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had another strong outing, becoming the rookie to pass for at least 300 yards in four consecutive games. He completed 26 of 36 passes for two touchdowns, while leading the rushing attack with 47 yards and a touchdown, primarily on scrambles.
But unlike the previous three games, Stroud was unable to make the plays on the final drive of the game to bring the team back. He took a bad sack and had a couple of errant throws in that final series, forcing the Texans to go with the desperation field goal attempt with 34 seconds remaining.
“We have to help each other out,” Stroud said. “It’s a great one to learn from, but, no, you don’t want to lose a close game like that. It’s tough to put it all on the kicker’s hand and everything. I think Matt has done a great job, and we have to put him in better situations. Maybe get closer or even go try to score a touchdown and win the game. A lot of different things that could happen and play out a different way.”
Instead of being down about the loss, Ryans and his players all talked about remaining upbeat and optimistic with games remaining to get back on the right track.
“I’m going out there every play, every game trying to win,” Stroud said. “So, I don’t really think that our season is over at all. It’s a long year. We have six more games to play, seven more games to play. There’s a lot more football left. You can see the trajectory we’re on. We’re taking strides, but we’ve got to play complementary football and play for the offense.”
