Travis Etienne’s late TD lifts Jaguars past Texans, snaps home skid
Travis Etienne scored a go-ahead 10-yard touchdown with 1:48 left to help the Jacksonville Jaguars come away with a 17-10 win over the Houston Texans Sunday afternoon, snapping a seven-game home losing streak in the series.
The touchdown was set up by a 46-yard catch-and-run by slumping wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who had caught just one of five targets for nine yards on the day before that play.
Etienne had just 29 yards before accounting for 27 yards on the game-winning drive and notching his first touchdown of the season.
The ensuing Houston drive crossed the Jacksonville 30 before Antonio Johnson secured the defense's second interception of C.J. Stroud on a pass tipped at the line by Josh Hines-Allen to clinch the first Jaguars (2-1) home win vs. Houston since December of 2017.
That was one of three red-zone turnovers for the Texans, with Stroud throwing a pair of interceptions and Nico Collins getting the ball ripped at the end of a catch with 3:57 left on the clock as Houston was threatening to take the lead.
With the loss, Houston falls to 0-3 for the first time since 2018. While those Texans made the playoffs, the odds are stacked firmly against 0-3 teams rebounding to make the postseason.
Stroud finished 25-of-38 passing for 204 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown to a wide-open Collins to tie the game at 10 with 9:13 left. Collins accounted for 104 of those receiving yards and has both of the Texans' receiving touchdowns so far this season.
Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence completed 20 of 40 passes for 222 yards with one interception.
The first half was an ugly offensive showing for both teams. It saw a combined nine punts to 14 first downs.
The Jaguars, who entered the day fourth in the league in total offense, managed just 88 yards of offense to 45 penalty yards over the opening 30 minutes.
The lone first-half touchdown came on Bhayshul Tuten's first career touchdown, a 1-yard run with 2:06 left in the first quarter.
Houston kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn responded with a 27-yard field goal with 6:54 left to cut the halftime deficit to 7-3 after he missed his first field goal of the day from 52 yards in the first quarter.
The Jaguars padded their lead at the end of an 8:37 drive with a 39-yard Cam Little field goal on the opening drive of the second half.
Little missed a 47-yard field goal on their next possession to fail to make it a two-score game, but the defense came through again with Jourdan Lewis' interception of Stroud at the 18-yard line.
With two more interceptions and three takeaways vs. Houston, the Jaguars have seven interceptions -- more than the six they had all of last season -- and nine forced turnovers, matching their 2024 total.