NFL Week 15 Game Recap: Houston Texans 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 16

It appears as if there were more problems in Jacksonville than simply Urban Meyer. In the battle for the No. 1 overall pick, the Texans topped the Jaguars 30-16. That combined with a Lions win leaves Jacksonville with the worst record in the NFL.

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Houston Texans

Quarterback

Davis Mills played good enough for the win but still left a lot of yards on the field. He missed a number of open downfield throws. On throws over seven yards downfield, he went only 3-of-9 for 73 yards with a touchdown and a pick.

Running Back

The Texans didn’t win this one on the back of their running attack, that’s for sure. Rex Burkhead had a measly 41 yards on 16 carries with 35 after contact while David Johnson had 24 yards on six carries with 14 yards after contact. 

Receivers

Brandin Cooks continues to get the job done every single place he goes. He had his second straight 100-yard game, hauling in seven catches for 102 yards with 76 coming after the catch. He’s now less than 60 yards away from his sixth 1,000-yard season.

Offensive Line

Right tackle Charlie Heck had been coming on strong of late but had a rough go of it against Josh Allen on Sunday. He yielded four pressures on only 31 pass-blocking snaps. That’s the second-most he’s allowed in a game all season.

Defensive Line

We got a rare Derek Rivers sighting on Sunday. The former Patriots draft pick whose career never got off the ground after tearing his ACL prior to his rookie season had a nice game this week for the Texans. He led the Texans with two run stops as well as a sack. 

Derek Rivers sacks Trevor Lawrence. pic.twitter.com/YmR9zqqaIR

— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) December 19, 2021

Linebackers

Garret Wallow has been thrown to the fire this year and more often than not looked like a rookie. Sunday was the best he’s looked all season, though, as he racked up 10 total tackles without a miss including three defensive stops. 

Secondary

After an ugly few weeks transitioning back to cornerback, Lonnie Johnson Jr. looked much better on Sunday. He allowed only three of four targets for 23 yards and had a big pass-breakup on Marvin Jones in the end zone.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence’s performance was fairly indicative of his rookie season: He didn’t play poorly per se, but couldn’t overcome a blundering supporting cast. He didn’t have a single big-time throw nor did he make a turnover-worthy play. 

Running Back

James Robinson didn’t have a banner game by any means, but at least he played the whole game. The second-year back played 52 of a possible 58 snaps on the day. That’s the third-most he’s played in a game all season.

Receivers

The Jags receiving corps is a mis-mash of “what could have been” kind of players. After setting a career-high with 68 yards last week, former first-rounder Laquon Treadwell was once again the Jaguars leading receiver with 57 yards today.

Offensive Line

After one of his worst games all year last week against the Titans, right tackle Jawaan Taylor had one of his best against the Texans. He allowed two sacks and two hurries last week, but didn’t allow a single pressure on Sunday.

Defensive Line

It was Josh Allen pretty much all by himself applying pressure to Mills in this one. He had four pressures while no one else on the Jaguars line had more than two. Run defense was a different story, as second-year defensive tackle Davon Hamilton was a man possessed.

Linebackers

The Jags linebacking duo were pretty much non-factors in this one. Myles Jack and Damien Wilson combined for eight total tackles including five stops. 

Secondary

It’s been quite the late-season emergence from rookie Tyson Campbell. He had another banner day, allowing only 7 yards on seven targets. Of those seven targets, one resulted in a pick and two others in forced incompletions.