SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 5, 2013
Jaguars 27, Texans 20: Chad Henne threw a pair of touchdown passes and Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 103 yards as Jacksonville held on for its first home win.
Receiver Ace Sanders also threw a touchdown pass for the Jaguars (4-9), who have won four of their last five after an 0-8 start. Jacksonville withstood a fourth-quarter rally, stopping Houston on fourth-and-2 from the Jaguars' 13-yard line with less than four minutes remaining and sealing it with linebacker Geno Hayes' interception with 2:08 left for its first three-game winning streak since 2010.
Matt Schaub came off the bench to rally the Texans (2-11), going 17-of-29 for 198 yards with a touchdown in relief of Case Keenum, who was 16-of-29 for 159 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Andre Johnson caught 13 passes for 154 yards, but it wasn't enough for Houston to avoid its franchise-record 11th consecutive loss.
Schaub threw a 5-yard TD pass to tight end Garrett Graham and drove Houston into position for a 31-yard field goal by Randy Bullock to pull within 24-20, but he couldn't produce points on the Texans' next two possessions. Schaub was flushed from the pocket and forced a pass into double coverage on the failed fourth-down and didn't see Hayes on his 10th interception of the season.
The Jaguars jumped out to a 14-0 lead as Henne threw a 1-yard touchdown pass on a jump ball for tight end Marcedes Lewis and a 6-yard scoring toss to Cecil Shorts III. Keenum hit Keshawn Martin for an 8-yard TD pass with 1:53 remaining in the half, but a pair of penalties against rookie safety D.J. Swearinger prolonged a Jacksonville drive and led to Josh Scobee's 40-yard field goal for a 17-7 halftime lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jacksonville's 14-0 lead was its largest since Week 11 of last season. … Johnson has an NFL-record 20 career games with at least 10 catches and 100 receiving yards. His 10 contests with at least 10 catches and 150 yards are tied with Jerry Rice for the most in history. … The Jaguars have forced 10 turnovers in the past five games after recording only eight takeaways in their first eight contests.