It was a roller coaster ride Sunday, but the Jacksonville Jaguars came out on top by literal inches. A 58-yard field goal try from the Houston Texans’ Matt Ammendola would’ve tied the game in the final minute of regulation, but clanged off the bottom upright, securing the Jaguars a 24-21 win.
There was no shortage of standout performances for Jacksonville as it racked up 445 yards of total offense. The game was also a little too close for comfort, though.
Here’s who stood out most Sunday at NRG Stadium both in a good way and in a not-so-good way in the Jaguars’ huge divisional win:
Stud: QB Trevor Lawrence
Lawrence was dealing Sunday as he racked up his highest passing yardage total of 2023. The Jaguars quarterback connected on four passes that picked up at least 40 yards and he scored with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown.
Stud: OLB Josh Allen
Allen continues to put together a career year that is going to inevitably earn him a ton of money. With a 2.5-sack day Sunday, Allen is now second in franchise history in sacks and 15.5 behind Tony Brackens for the Jaguars record.
Best of all, Allen recorded 1.5 of his sacks in the last three minutes to help force the Texans into an uncomfortably long field goal try.
Dud: Jaguars running game
Travis Etienne Jr. briefly exited Sunday with a chest injury before returning to the game. Whether or not that contributed to his lackluster day on the ground is tough to say. Etienne finished with 2.8 yards per carry on 20 attempts and D’Ernest Johnson managed only 2.7 on his seven carries.
Stud: Jaguars run defense
C.J. Stroud finished as the Texans’ leading rusher, because neither Devin Singletary nor Dameon Pierce could find much room. The running back duo finished with 32 rushing yards against the stout Jacksonville front.
Studs: WRs Christian Kirk and Calvin Ridley
The Jaguars’ top two receivers both had costly drops Sunday, but by the final whistle they had combined for nine receptions and 178 yards with exactly 89 yards from each. Jacksonville acquired Ridley with the hope that this duo would make big plays for Lawrence and they came through more often than not against the Texans.
Dud: Officiating
The Texans have plenty of reason to be frustrated with the seven penalties for 49 yards that they tallied Sunday. It included some ticky-tack calls that extended a Jaguars drive that ended with a go-ahead touchdown and an illegal shift penalty that erased a huge gain for Tank Dell.
Jacksonville also has a legitimate gripe, though. An egregious missed pass interference call led to a Trevor Lawrence interception that was arguably the biggest momentum swing of the game.
Stud: Jaguars pass blocking
While the Jaguars offensive line didn’t bulldoze much running room for Etienne and co., the Texans finished with zero sacks and failed to generate much pressure on Lawrence. Walker Little picked up three penalties, but the Jaguars can live with that performance in relief of Cam Robinson if it means No. 16 stays clean.
Dud: Goal line play calling
It was a pretty good day for Lawrence and offensive coordinator Press Taylor with receivers running open and the Jaguars hitting on several chunk plays. The team’s short-yardage calls got off to a strong start too when Lawrence reached the ball across for Jacksonville’s first touchdown of the day.
But the Jaguars got too cute on the last play before halftime and needed way too many tries in the third quarter to finally get in the end zone again.
