Everything was going right for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then everything went wrong.
The Jaguars controlled the first three quarters of their game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Sunday, scoring on five of their seven possessions and holding the Texans – playing with backup quarterback Davis Mills, as C.J. Stroud was out with a concussion – to a field goal and a touchdown.
The Texans struggled to find a rhythm offensively, despite some big moments from their defense. They still showed some signs of life as the fourth quarter neared, but knew they had their work cut out for them if they wanted to make a dent in the Jaguars' 29-10 lead.
It was then, though, that the tides shifted completely. Led by Mills and backed up by a determined defense, the Texans put up 26 points in the fourth quarter to win their fourth game of the season, 36-29, and knock the Jaguars to 5-4. It was the highest-scoring fourth quarter in Texans history, and their 19-point comeback was the Texans' second-largest comeback win in franchise history.
"The key for our entire game today is no one blinked," head coach DeMeco Ryans said postgame. "I talked to the guys last night about it's going to be a heavyweight fight, and we got to keep throwing punches no matter how it looks. It may look rough, it doesn't matter. I didn't want anybody to blink. I wanted everybody to continue to press forward, to keep punching and that's what they did."
The Texans scored four total touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Mills throwing two touchdowns and then scrambling 14 yards into the end zone take a 30-29 lead with 37 seconds to go. That alone might have been enough to win the game, but at that point the Texans weren't satisfied. After allowing Lawrence to squeeze out a 21-yard run, defensive end Will Anderson Jr. got into the pocket to sack Lawrence and force a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, who took the ball 32 yards to the house to seal the victory.
"I think the whole team had faith we were going to win that game the entire time," Mills said. "I think our team is very confident in our own abilities. We have a lot of players who can make plays. We just needed to get things clicking. As we went out there, I think we really only had one possession in the third quarter and went down and were able to drive the ball pretty well in the fourth quarter. Like I said before, defense kept finding ways to get off the field...being able to trust the guys around me, especially on the other side of the ball, to go out there and make plays, it was just a hard-fought win. It was fun."
Mills finished the game 27-of-45 for 292 yards and two touchdowns, and he was sacked twice and threw one interception. Lawrence was 13-of-23 for 158 yards and one touchdown, and he was sacked five times and threw one interception. The Jaguars were only able to record 213 total yards of offense to the Texans' 412, and converted just 4-of-11 third downs to the Texans' 10-of-15.
"Definitely some probably disbelief, you're like you got a 19-point lead and can't hold onto it," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said. "That's disappointing. That's really disappointing against an in-division opponent on the road where you're controlling the game for the majority of it with all three phases having an impact."
"I mean, we had our opportunities, we just didn't take advantage of them," Lawrence said. "I think it was more self-inflicted things throughout the passing game and throughout the day on offense, to be honest. There was a lot of stuff we left out there. It's a really good defense. Give all the credit to them. They are a really good defense. They made some plays today where good defensive teams are going to make plays, but I also feel like we left some stuff out there."
The Colts, at 8-2 after their overtime win on Sunday, now hold a significant lead over the Jaguars for first place in the division. The Colts are on a bye in Week 11, while the Texans will look to reach .500 with a win over the Tennessee Titans (who will be coming off a bye). The Jaguars, meanwhile, will look to rebound against the Los Angeles Chargers.
