The Jacksonville Jaguars struggled to contain the Houston Texans’ offense in London, suffering a frustrating loss to their AFC South rival. Jacksonville entered the matchup with an opportunity to strengthen its position in the division, but Houston found ways to exploit the Jaguars’ defense and make life difficult throughout the contest. Now, the Jaguars are left searching for answers as they look to regroup, address their shortcomings, and get back on track.
As the Jaguars fall to 4-2 heading into
the Week 7 bye week, here’s everything you need to know from Jacksonville’s Week 6 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans to wrap up the Jaguars’ 2026 International slate.
Post-game notables:
- Early Mistakes Hurt Jacksonville
- Jacksonville headed into halftime down three following a first half that featured four dropped passes (two by Brian Thomas Jr., one by Parker Washington, and one by Jakobi Meyers). Each Thomas drop cost the Jaguars a field goal opportunity. The Parker Washington drop would have resulted in Jacksonville being in field goal range and a red zone Lawrence interception after a bad holding call cost them a first-half touchdown. In total, Jacksonville mistakes (or bad penalties) cost a total of 16 first-half points, with the team down 17-14 at halftime.
- While the team ended the day with just six penalties, four of them came in the opening half and cost the team in a tight matchup.
- WR Travis Hunter Arrives
- The Jaguars’ 9-play, 61-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown drive featured a touchdown from the dual-threat Hunter. Liam Coen consistently used Hunter to find the prime matchup, bringing in a show-stopping three catches for 40 yards.
- Missed Tackles, Penalties, & Pass Rush Doom Jags’ Defense
- In a tough day for the Jacksonville defense, Texans quarterback CJ Stroud was 24/34 for 312 yards, with 3 TDs, an interception, and a 116.3 passer rating. The biggest problem for the secondary ended up being receiver Jaylin Noel, not Nico Collins, who led the Texans in receiving with 4 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown on four targets. Collins also ended the day with three catches for 74-yards also.
- An illegal use of hands penalty and two pass interference flags on Jarrian Jones and Travis Hunter all came on scoring drives for Houston. Jones also missed the final tackle on the Texans final touchdown, a 25-yard touchdown rush.
Favorite Game Highlight:
Tight end Nate Boerkircher’s incredible one-handed touchdown reception to cut Houston’s third-quarter lead to three was one of beauty and our pick for this week.
In Case You Missed It
In an up-and-down opening half, the Jaguars’ offense looked both dominant and problematic, with red zone opportunities, untimely penalties, and receiver drops erasing many of the early successes by Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville run game. The Jaguars’ offense suffered three drops in the opening three drives from a rainy London stadium, then had a clear Bhayshul Tuten touchdown called back on a non-existent holding penalty.
Following the negated touchdown, Jacksonville came away from the red zone drive with no points, following a third-down interception by Texans safety Calen Bullock.
However, following the turnover, and a quick three-and-out by the Jacksonville defense, Bhayshul Tuten weaved through traffic to tie the game.
Following a Houston field goal, the Jaguars offense quickly moved down the field on a 9-play, 48-yard drive with Tuten scoring his second receiving touchdown of the half.
However, the lead would be short-lived, following an explosive, 50-yard gain from Jaylin Noel and CJ Stroud, followed by Foster Moreau scoring his second touchdown of the half.
Halftime Stats:
- Score: 17-14 Houston
- Time of possession: 19:57 to 10:03 Jacksonville
- Third Down Defense: 0/3 (0%) Jacksonville
- Turnovers forced: 1-0 Houston
- Rushing yards: 85-22 Jacksonville
- Passing yards: 160-156 Houston
- Redzone: 2/3 (66%) Houston vs 1/2 (50%) Jacksonville
- Penalties: 4 for 42 yards Jacksonville vs 3 for 15-yards Houston
- Points off turnovers: N/A
QB Trevor Lawrence ended the half 12/24 for 156 yards (6.5 avg), with two touchdowns and an interception. RB Chris Rodriguez led the team on the ground with 10 carries for 52 yards (5.2 avg), while Bhayshul Tuten had 50 total yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Following the half, both defense struggled to slow the opposing offense. Stroud quickly moved the Texans down the field, going 6/7 for 59 yards to take a 10-point lead, with Jacksonville answering with the aforementioned Travis Hunter series.
However, Hunter wasn’t finished touching the ball, deciding it was time to catch a pass from CJ Stroud in one of the game’s most important plays.
Following the turnover and a 60-yard field goal by Cam Little, the game was tied 31-31 with 1:55 remaining. However, the defensive struggles continued, with Houston easily driving into field goal range for a game-winning 49-yard kick.
Game balls:
- Special Teams: Josh Cameron: 1 kick return for 46 yards
- Defense: CB Travis Hunter: 3 tackles, 1 interception
- Offense: QB Trevor Lawrence: 24/41 for 306 yards, 4 TDs, and an int (104.3 passer rating)
Key stats (traditional):
- QB Trevor Lawrence: 24/41 for 306 yards, 4 TDs, and an int (104.3 passer rating)
- WR Parker Washington: 4 catches for 64 yards (16.0 avg)
- WR Jakobi Meyers: 5 catches for 83 yards (16.6 avg)
- RB Chris Rodriguez: 11 carries for 55-yards (5.0 avg)
- RB Bhayshul Tuten: 12 carries for 39-yards (3.3 avg)
- LB Foye Oluokun: 8 tackles, 4 solo
View the full box score here
Notable statistical gaps:
- First downs: 24 to 23 Houston
- Time of possession: 30:23 to 29:37 Jacksonville
- Third & Fourth Down Defense: 5/11 (45.5%) Jacksonville vs 7/13 (53.8%) for Houston
- Defensive Sacks: 0 to 0
- Rushing yards: 114 to 106 Houston
- Passing yards: 312 to 306 Houston
- Redzone: 3/4 (75%) Jacksonville vs 3/5 (60%) Houston
- Penalties: 6 for 66 yards for Jacksonville
- Turnovers forced: 1 to 1 (tie)
- Points off turnovers: 3-0 Jacksonville
Pre-Game Inactives
For the Jaguars:
- LS Ross Matiscik (shoulder)
- CB Montaric Brown (hamstring)
- CB Jaylon Jones (hamstring)
- S Jalen Huskey
- DE Wesley Williams
- DT Albert Regis
- WR CJ Williams
For Houston:
- RB David Montgomery (groin)
- WR Tank Dell (knee – remains on IR)
- S Jalen Pitre (shoulder)
- OT Braden Smith (recently activated from IR – foot)
- TE Marlin Klein
- G Febechi Nwaiwu
- T Nate Thomas
- DE Sabastian Harsh
In-Game Injuries
As a note, the following Jacksonville players left Sunday’s game due to injury:
- S Antonio Johnson left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury
Live blog:
Recap each of the big plays from tonight’s game in our live blog!
The Jaguars will now fly back to the United States, still leading the AFC South and immediately head into a much needed Week 7 Bye Week, followed by an 11//26, 1 PM home matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
What are your thoughts from tonight’s game, Jaguars fans? Who surprised you most or disappointed you with their play tonight? Let us know in the comments!
