Texans vs. Jaguars: C.J. Stroud Flushes a Late Pick, Ka'imi Fairbairn Walks Off Wembley in Week 6

C.J. Stroud had the game on his racket and served it straight into Travis Hunter's hands. With Houston knocking at the Jacksonville 4 and a chance to bury the Jaguars, Stroud's throw for Xavier Hutchinson was picked off in the end zone, and Cam Little turned the gift into a 60-yard field goal that tied it with 1:55 left.

Then Stroud did the thing franchise quarterbacks are paid to do. He marched the Texans 36 yards in seven plays, and Ka'imi Fairbairn drilled a 49-yard field goal as time expired to give Houston a 34-31 win over the Jaguars on Sunday at Wembley Stadium. For the 82,497 in the building and everyone stateside who tuned in for the 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff, it was a Premier League stoppage-time winner with helmets on.

A Shootout on Slippery Grass

Early rain left the Wembley turf slick, and the footing became a subplot, according to the AP. Nico Collins swapped into longer spikes in the first half, and Dalton Schultz slipped just short of a third-down marker in the red zone, forcing Houston to settle for Fairbairn's 25-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead.

Once both offenses found their footing, it became a track meet. Stroud hit tight end Foster Moreau for a 6-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and Calen Bullock ended a 14-play Jacksonville drive with an interception. Trevor Lawrence answered with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Bhayshul Tuten, and after Fairbairn's chip shot, he found Tuten again from 2 yards out for a 14-10 Jaguars lead with 55 seconds left in the half.

Fifty-five seconds turned out to be plenty. Jaylin Noel returned the kickoff 36 yards, then hauled in a 50-yard bomb on the next snap. A pass interference flag on Hunter set Houston up close, and Moreau caught a 1-yard touchdown with 8 seconds left for a 17-14 halftime lead.

The third quarter was pure chaos. Jacksonville was flagged for too many men on the field on a Houston punt, which kept alive the drive that ended in Noel's 13-yard touchdown catch. Lawrence found rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher from a yard out to make it 24-21, and Jawhar Jordan ripped off a 25-yard touchdown run late in the quarter to push the lead back to 10 at 31-21. Hunter then caught a 7-yard touchdown early in the fourth to cut it to 31-28.

Stroud and the Supporting Cast

Stroud finished 24 of 34 for 312 yards, three touchdowns and a 116.3 passer rating, and Houston did not allow a sack. The interception was his first of the season, according to the AP, and the Texans say his season-opening run of 216 pass attempts without a pick was the longest to start a season in franchise history.

Noel was the breakout star, with four catches for a career-high 107 yards and a touchdown, plus 174 all-purpose yards, per the Texans. Moreau's two scores gave him the first multi-touchdown game of his career. Jordan's 25-yard run was his first career rushing touchdown, in his season debut. Woody Marks carried 15 times for 56 yards, and the AP noted he was the first running back to top 40 yards against Jacksonville this season. Marvin Harrison Jr., acquired in a trade with Arizona this week, caught three passes for 34 yards in his Texans debut.

Jacksonville's losing effort still had a highlight reel. Lawrence threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Hunter, the two-way star who scored his first NFL touchdown at Wembley a year ago, caught a touchdown pass and picked off Stroud, making him just the fifth player in the Super Bowl era, playoffs included, to score a touchdown and intercept a pass in the same game, according to the AP.

The Pick, and the Answer

The defining stretch started with Houston's best drive of the day: 12 plays, 63 yards and 7:33 of clock that ended in Hunter's arms. Little's 60-yarder came a week after his 57-yarder beat the Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so the Jaguars had every reason to believe in London magic.

Stroud did not flinch. "Just made a mistake," Stroud said. "I've learned in my life I've got to flush my failures and flush my successes and just move on."

His coach got the message on the sideline. "His mindset was 'Hey, I got you Coach, don't worry about it," Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said.

On the final drive, Marks did the heavy lifting with a 19-yard catch, Jordan added a 7-yard run, and Houston bled the clock down to 3 seconds before Fairbairn trotted out. He was 2 for 2 on field goals and 4 for 4 on extra points, and the Texans say he has now made 51 straight attempts from under 50 yards.

The Numbers Behind the Thriller

• 0: Sacks allowed by either team. Both quarterbacks stayed upright all day.
• 426 to 412: Houston's narrow edge in total yards in a game decided on the last snap.
• 33-16: Houston's all-time series lead over Jacksonville after the win, per the Texans, who are now 2-0 against the Jaguars in London.
• 60: Yards on Little's game-tying kick, the longest of the day.

What It Means in the AFC South

The Texans started 0-4. They have now won two straight, and at 2-4 they are back in the conversation, two games behind the AFC South-leading Jaguars. The AP noted that Houston was also 2-4 at this point last season and finished 12-5 with a wild-card berth. Precedent is a powerful thing in October.

The Jaguars are still 4-2 and still on top of the division, but this one stung. Their three-game winning streak is over, penalties dogged them for a third straight week, per the AP, and they head into their bye wondering how a 10-point rally died on a field goal at the gun.

"We didn't get the result we wanted," Jaguars coach Liam Coen said.

Houston hosts the New York Giants next Sunday before its own bye in Week 8.

Calm Down, Coach

Ryans, to his credit, enjoyed the ride while asking for a smoother one. "Can we make it a little less stressful next time? But it's always fun to get the win," Ryans said.

He also co-signed the "C.J. Stroud for MVP" signs in the Wembley stands. "Our fans are right. C.J. Stroud for MVP. Let's keep it going," he said.

That might be a little early. But after an 0-4 start, a quarterback who throws a backbreaking pick and then calmly wins the game anyway looks a lot like the main character again. Ted Lasso would call it believing. Houston calls it Week 6.

Stats from the official box score and play-by-play via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and HoustonTexans.com.