The Texans were supposed to be one of the best teams in the league and the Jaguars were supposed to be one of the worst, but when they met on the field on Sunday, it didn’t look that way.
Instead, the Jaguars led for most of the way, and the Texans needed a furious fourth-quarter comeback just to force overtime, which finally ended with an Andre Johnson touchdown catch that won the game, 43-37.
Johnson had an absolutely amazing game, catching 14 passes for 273 yards, and so did Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, completing 43 of 55 passes for 527 yards and five touchdowns.
But we shouldn’t overlook just how well the Jaguars played in defeat. After starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert was knocked out of the game, backup Chad Henne came in and played outstanding football, completing 16 of 33 passes for 354 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Jaguars rookie receiver Justin Blackmon caught seven passes for 236 yards, for a whopping average of 33.7 yards a catch, and scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter that gave Jacksonville what looked like it could be an insurmountable lead.
Unfortunately for Jacksonville, the Texans were able to surmount that insurmountable lead. Houston can’t afford to have its defense give up huge games to mediocre quarterbacks like Henne if it wants to be a Super Bowl team, but on this day, the Texans survived after a long, hard struggle.