Houston held Jacksonville to 6 points to secure its first win of the season.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dameon Pierce ran for 99 yards and a touchdown, a score set up by the rookie’s 20-yard gain in which he broke six tackles, and the Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-6 on Sunday to extend their winning streak in the series to nine.
Houston picked up its first win of the season and fifth straight in Jacksonville despite finishing with just 248 yards.
The Texans (1-3-1) got a huge assist from the top pick in April’s NFL draft. Jaguars linebacker Travon Walker rag-dolled quarterback Davis Mills after whistles stopped a third-and-20 play. Walker was going to be flagged for a neutral-zone infraction and penalized 5 yards. But his inexcusable mistake gave Houston 15 yards and an automatic first down.
Pierce took it from there. The former Florida standout, who played collegiately about 75 miles west of Jacksonville, made the Jaguars (2-3) look silly on his longest run of the day. He slipped through the line of scrimmage and then wiggled and willed his way through half the defense.
Tyson Campbell finally brought him down just shy of the goal line. Pierce scored up the middle two plays later, putting the Texans up 13-6 in an otherwise ugly game that up to that point featured four field goals, eight punts and 10 penalties.
Trevor Lawrence delivered a second straight stinker. The second-year starter, coming off a five-turnover game at Philadelphia, completed 25 of 47 passes for 286 yards and two interceptions. Texans rookie Derek Stingley Jr. picked off a Lawrence pass in the end zone early in the third quarter.
It was the latest miscue for Lawrence, who has turned in more downs than ups this season.
Lawrence and the Jaguars had two chances in the closing minutes, but the quarterback misfired on a fourth-down pass on the first and was picked off to end the game.
Davis Mills played error-free football for Houston. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 140 yards. He was sacked once.
RETIRED NUMBER
Jaguars owner Shad Khan delivered Tony Boselli his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring of excellence and formally retired Boselli’s No. 71 jersey.
The halftime presentation was the highlight of the franchise’s “Legends Weekend.” Nearly 100 former players were on hand to see Boselli honored. The team also released a 40-minute documentary titled “71,” which chronicles Boselli’s life and playing career. Boselli wore his gold Hall of Fame jacket during the ceremony and was flanked by his bronze Hall of Fame bust.
KEY INJURIES
Jaguars LG Ben Bartch and LB K’Lavon Chaisson left the game with knee injuries. … Both teams played without one of their best defensive linemen: Houston was without Jon Greenard; Jacksonville was without Foley Fatukasi.
UP NEXT
Texans: Play at the Las Vegas Raiders.
Jaguars: Play at Tennessee, where Jacksonville has lost eight straight.