National Football League
Jacksonville 31, Houston 3
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 1, 2023
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: Scott Novak
Attendance: 64581

Travis Etienne Jr. ran for 108 yards and a touchdown Sunday while the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense added a score during a 31-3 rout of the host Houston Texans.

Jacksonville (8-8) won its fourth straight game and moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC South, a game ahead of Tennessee. The teams meet next week in Jacksonville to determine the division winner and a playoff spot.

Houston (2-13-1) was never in Sunday's game, a stark contrast from its previous three games that saw it take Dallas and Kansas City to the wire while upsetting Tennessee last week in Nashville. The Texans managed just 277 total yards and 13 first downs.

Trevor Lawrence completed 17 of 21 passes for 152 yards with an interception before exiting in the third quarter. Lawrence led a 75-yard touchdown drive to start the second half that Snoop Conner finished with a 3-yard run to make it 28-0 at the 9:28 mark of the third quarter.

The game was basically decided in a 46-second span early in the second quarter. Etienne ripped off a 62-yard scoring jaunt off the left side, stepping through a tackle and speeding untouched after that for his first touchdown since Week 9.

On Houston's second play of its next possession, Tyson Campbell picked up a fumble and turned it into a 12-yard return for a score that made it 21-0 with 11:35 remaining in the half. The Texans' offense, which entered the week ranked 30th in scoring at 16.9 points per game, wasn't about to overcome that deficit.

Davis Mills completed 22 of 40 passes for just 202 yards and backup Jeff Driskel was 3 of 4 for only 9 yards. Each was sacked once by a Jaguars' defense that came within a 56-yard Ka'imi Fairbairn field goal of posting their second shutout of the year.

Jacksonville also got a 5-yard touchdown run from JaMycal Hasty in the first quarter and a 53-yard field goal from Riley Patterson in the fourth.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Jacksonville   Houston
Travis Etienne Jr. Player Davis Mills
9 Attempts 4
108 Yards 33
12.0 Avg Yards 8.2
1 Touchdowns 0
62 Long 13
Receiving
Jacksonville   Houston
Marvin Jones Jr. Player Brandin Cooks
6 Receptions 4
61 Yards 39
10.2 Avg Yards 9.8
0 Touchdowns 0
17 Long 17
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Jacksonville 337 169 168 4 1 0 2.0 1
Houston 277 84 193 0 1 2 2.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Houston will play their next game on the road against Indianapolis. The Texans have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .167 after a loss.
  • Jacksonville will play their next game at home against Tennessee. The Jaguars have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .444 after a loss.