Six weeks into the 2024 NFL season, the Colts (3-3) remain in second place in the AFC South after beating the Tennessee Titans 20-17 Sunday afternoon. Both the Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars only have one win on the season, while the Texans are now 5-1 following their win over the New England Patriots.
No Nico Collins, no problem for Texans vs. Patriots
With their 41-21 win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, the Texans won at New England for the first time in franchise history while also tying the best start in franchise history with a 5-1 record.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud got off to a hot start, throwing two touchdown passes in the first quarter. Houston's offense stalled in the second quarter, and the Patriots were able to score a touchdown of their own, but came back with a vengeance in the second half of Sunday's game. Thanks to three more touchdowns and two field goals, the Texans coasted to victory.
"I felt like we were flowing in all aspects, pass and run," Stroud said postgame. "Kind of just slowed down at the end of the first half. Can't do that, but other than that, I feel like we were hitting on all cylinders."
Stroud completed 20-of-31 passes for 192 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He finished with a passer rating of 100.5.
"C.J. was very efficient," head coach DeMeco Ryans said. "He was poised, under control, never gets too high or too low. When he does make a mistake, he understands instantly, and he's able to fix it. For him to get three touchdown (passes) was big, and he didn't do it by himself. Our O-line did a good job of protecting."
Even without top wide receiver Nico Collins, who was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury on Wednesday, the Texans didn't falter. Running back Joe Mixon, who had missed Houston's last three games with an ankle injury, returned in full force. He rushed for 102 yards on 13 carries with a 20-yard touchdown run, and also had two receptions for 30 yards with a 10-yard touchdown reception.
"You see the energy he brings – it's just different," Ryans said. "He's one of the best competitors I've been around. His passion for the game, his will to play injured, to gut it out and still have an outstanding performance just shows who Joe is. His presence just uplifts our entire team."
Houston's defense also had a strong performance, limiting the Patriots to 82 rushing yards. New England rookie quarterback Drake Maye completed 20-of-33 pass attempts for 243 yards but was sacked four times. Three of New England's four turnovers resulted in a Texans scoring drive.
"One thing we pride ourselves on is taking the football defensively, and that was huge, seeing the energy it provided for our team," Ryans said. "It's not just getting the takeaways, it's about the offense being able to capitalize and score points off those takeaways."
The Texans next play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Jaguars collapse against Bears in London
When asked postgame if the Jaguars' 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears was as bad as it looked, Jacksonville safety Andre Cisco gave a blunt answer.
"I just feel like it was ... How should I say this? A lot of quit," Cisco said. "In a situation like that, you can feel when we're playing as one and when we're not and it felt very early in the game, maybe out of halftime, that we weren't playing as one."
The Jaguars kicked a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but once the second quarter began they seemed to simply run out of juice. The Jaguars trailed just 14-3 heading into halftime, but after the Bears outgained them 216-13 and didn't allow a single first down in the second quarter, Jacksonville had nothing to build off for the second half.
About halfway through the third quarter, it seemed as though the Jaguars had a chance to make it a game again; a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence to wide receiver Gabe Davis made it a 21-10 game. But three defensive penalties on the Bears' following offensive possession kept the ball in quarterback Caleb Williams' hands, and he led the Bears to another touchdown to put them up 28-10.
"We kept them on the field on one drive with three penalties and they ended up scoring," defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said. "We have to correct those. Outside of the penalties, we were getting off the field. We have to respond and still get off the field. We didn't do a good job of that today."
Lawrence completed 23-of-35 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and was sacked twice and intercepted once. Backup quarterback Mac Jones entered the game in the final minutes of the fourth quarter – he completed one pass for six yards and was sacked. The Jaguars' offense rushed for 68 yards on 20 carries, while the Bears rushed for 152 yards on 29 attempts.
"You're never going to be perfect," Lawrence said. "We let those mistakes kind of accumulate and just pile on, but you're never going to play perfect...I think as a team we do have to be better at overcoming adversity."
The Jaguars will remain in England this week as they are set to play the Patriots at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
