The Texans have accepted that the Jaguars are going to win the AFC South.
To win the division, Houston needed both to beat Indianapolis today and for Jacksonville to lose to Tennessee. But with Jacksonville beating Tennessee 31-7 in the third quarter, Houston decided to pull its most important players, concede the division to Jacksonville, and start getting ready for the wild card round.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is out of the game, replaced by backup Davis Mills. And other key players on the Texans have gone to the sideline as well.
The Texans still have wild card seeding to play for, and beating the Colts today would guarantee the Texans the No. 5 seed. But Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has apparently decided that keeping his key players healthy is more important than improving his wild card seed.
And so the Texans have decided to prioritize staying healthy for next week over winning this week.
Trevor Lawrence had a five-game streak with multiple touchdown passes come to an end against the Colts last Sunday, but he’s back at it against the Titans this week.
Lawrence threw three touchdown passes in the first 30 minutes of play in Week 18 and the Jaguars hold a 31-7 lead over the Titans at halftime. A win will make the Jaguars the AFC South champions and keep them in play for the No. 1 seed in the AFC heading into the late window of games on Sunday afternoon.
Lawrence opened the scoring for the Jags by connecting with Parker Washington and he added touchdown passes to tight ends Brenton Strange and Quentin Morris later in the half. Lawrence is 16-of-19 for 181 yards.
The Jags’ other touchdown came on a 58-yard interception return by safety Antonio Johnson. Johnson picked off Brandon Allen, who replaced Cam Ward after the Titans rookie was ruled out with a right shoulder injury.
Their final points of the half came just before halftime when Jaguars kicker Cam Little slammed home a 67-yard field goal. Little set an NFL record with a 68-yarder earlier this season and now holds the top two spots in the record book.
The Jaguars are at home in Week 18 and it’s looking good for their chances of being home next weekend as well.
Safety Antonio Johnson snagged a pass by Titans quarterback Brandon Allen and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of Sunday’s game. The score made it 21-7 with 8:07 to play until halftime.
Allen is in the game because Cam Ward was knocked out by a right shoulder injury he suffered while scoring on a touchdown run in the first quarters.
Ward’s touchdown put the Titans up 7-0, but the Jags have scored 21 straight to take control of the game. A win makes them the AFC South champions.
Cam Ward’s rookie season is over.
The Titans rookie quarterback suffered a right shoulder injury while diving into the end zone to score a touchdown in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Jaguars. Ward was initially called questionable to return to the game, but he was ruled out heading into the second quarter.
Ward’s touchdown was his second rushing score of the year and he had 15 passing touchdowns in the first 16 games of the year. Eight of those scores came in the last four weeks, but the shoulder injury will stop Ward’s bid for a fifth-straight two-touchdown day.
Brandon Allen will be the quarterback for Tennessee the rest of the way. It’s 7-7 early in the second quarter in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars offense found its footing on their second possession of Sunday’s game.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was 5-of-5 for 60 yards to drive the Jags to their first points of the afternoon. They came on a 23-yard strike to wide receiver Parker Washington and it is now 7-7 with 6:02 left in the first quarter.
The Jaguars win the AFC South with a victory in Sunday’s game. They will also take the division if the Texans lose to the Colts.
Titans quarterback Cam Ward led the Titans to a touchdown to open the game. Ward then went to the locker room with a right shoulder injury and Brandon Allen has taken over for the Titans on their second possession. Ward is called questionable to return.
