Nine game winning streaks against specific opponents are rare in any sport, and when the streak involves a division rival, it is not something that should be taken lightly. So while the Houston Texans will all likely say “This was a big win for us in 2022,” and “We’re just trying to win a football game,” make no mistake — it feels good to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars for a ninth straight time.
This one felt good because the Jaguars had begun being perceived as a team whose rebuild was beginning to coalesce, a team that was beginning to feel themselves a little bit. Hell, they were seven point favorites yesterday against the Texans. However, in many ways, it looked like the same old Jags, and the result was the same old result in this series.
Final score — Texans 13, Jaguars 6.
As with any NFL game, there were winners and losers, so let’s get to them right now! Here we go:
WINNERS
4. Derek Stingley. Jr.
It’s been an up and down first month for the third overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Stingley, at times, has looked the part, and at other times, has struggled. That happens with rookies, even highly drafted ones. On Sunday, Stingley finally made a play that changed the complexion of a game, intercepting a Trevor Lawrence pass in the end zone early in the third quarter. Stingley was in zone coverage and made a nice read on where Lawrence was going with the ball. The only criticism I have is his decision to try to run the ball out of the end zone, leaving the Texans at their own two yard line to begin the next drive. Love seeing Stingley show up in the box score, though.
3. Special teams
It’s a shame that the Texans have a 1-3-1 record right now, because they’ve been hanging around in each of these games, and if they could have secured another win or two, we would be talking a lot more about the “third phase” affecting winning. On Sunday, it was the two specialists leading the way — kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn and punter Cam Johnston. Fairbairn had two field goals of over 50 yards, and Johnston dropped three punts inside the 20 yard line, including a crucial punt before the Jaguars’ final drive.
2. Nico Collins
Collins had three catches for 82 yards last week in the loss to the Chargers, including a huge 58 yard deep shot. On Sunday, he built off of the game with four catches for 65 yards, including an acrobatic 23 yard catch on a 3rd and 2 that flipped field position on the Texans’ only touchdown drive. Collins was one of the most improved Texans in the preseason, and in the last couple weeks, he has evolved into more of a “go to” receiver than Brandin Cooks has been.
1. Dameon Pierce
There isn’t much more I need to say about the rookie running back, so I’m just gonna leave this tweet right here, and thank the football gods he is a Houston Texan:
LOSERS
4. Travon Walker
When this happened, the score was tied 6-6, the Texans had the ball at their own 47 yard line and it was 3rd and 20. This drive was DEAD, and the play call was FOR SURE going to be some three yard crap play to Rex Burkhead. But then, Travon Walker happened….
Thank you, young man!
3. Commanders, Lions, Steelers, Raiders, Panthers
A week ago, the Texans woke up on Monday as the only winless team in football, and were posted as 7-point underdogs to a team they’d beaten eight straight times. One week later, the winning streak is now nine games, and the Texans have a better record than the Commanders, Lions, Steelers, Raiders, and Panthers. Baby steps!
2. Antonio Brown
We interrupt Texans talk to embed this tweet from the worst human being on the planet, Antonio Brown. In case you didn’t know, Tom Brady (a) is getting divorced, and (b) allowed Brown to stay in his home multiple times when Brady asked his employers to sign Brown. This is how Antonio Brown repays friendship:
1. Trevor Lawrence
The Jaguars came into this game 2-2, and viewed as a team on the rise, based largely on the quality of their two wins — a 24-0 shutout of the Colts, and a 38-10 thrashing of the Chargers. Lawrence, the number one overall pick in 2021, had improved over his abysmal rookie season. In 2021, he threw twelve touchdowns all season. In 2022, he already had thrown eight in four games. Still, turnovers were an issue, as witnessed in Week 4 when Lawrence turned the ball over five times in a loss to the Eagles. On Sunday against the Texans, he threw the pick to Stingley, but his main issue was accuracy (25 of 47) and an inability to convert in key situations (namely, 0-3 on fourth down conversion tries). Most importantly, Lawrence is now 0-3 versus the Texans, and 0-2 versus Davis Mills.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
