Texans Handle Jaguars in 24-14 Victory

Arian Foster rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown, and Houston shut down rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert and the NFL’s worst offense in a 24-14 win over the Jaguars on Sunday.

Matt Schaub threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score for Houston (5-3), off to its best eight-game start. The Texans also took one more step toward the franchise’s first division title and playoff berth by improving to 3-0 in the AFC South.

“We knew it was going to be a tough, dirty game,” said Houston linebacker Brian Cushing, who led his team with seven tackles. “In this league, it’s tough to get a win. We just had to do what we had to do.”

The Texans have outscored their division opponents by a total score of 99-28. This was the closest of the three games, mostly due to two Houston fumbles that led to Jacksonville touchdowns.

Schaub completed 16 of 30 passes and was sacked twice, and the Texans once again missed star receiver Andre Johnson, who sat out for the fourth straight game with a hamstring injury.

Unlike past seasons, Houston can rely on its defense to pick up the slack.

The Texans stayed in control by holding Jacksonville to 61 yards and five first downs in the second half. Gabbert, making his sixth career start, completed 10 of 30 passes for 97 yards and two interceptions in the game, for an anemic 26.7 rating.

“We had a defense that stood up and said, ‘We’re gonna win the game,'” Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. “They were excellent all day, exceptional.”

The Jaguars (2-6) couldn’t carry over momentum from their surprising 12-7 win over Baltimore on Monday night. Maurice Jones-Drew was limited to 63 yards on 18 carries, and says the entire offense bears some of the blame for Gabbert’s struggles.

“We have to continue to give him time in the pocket. We have to catch the ball when he throws it,” Jones-Drew said. “The quarterback is only as good as the players around him. So obviously, if he’s not doing well, we’re not doing well.”

The Texans got off to another fast start, scoring on their opening series for the fifth time. Schaub went 4 for 5 and then sprinted for a 2-yard touchdown with 8:21 left in the first quarter.

Jacksonville’s sixth-ranked defense held Baltimore to 34 yards rushing Monday night, but Houston matched that total on its first three possessions.

Gabbert was hurt on Jacksonville’s first series. Forced to scramble, he slid awkwardly at the end of an 11-yard run and was hit by safety Glover Quin and Cushing.

Trainers helped Gabbert off the field with bruised ribs, and Luke McCown replaced him. Gabbert returned on Jacksonville’s next possession, then threw five straight incompletions.

The Texans’ offense bogged down, too, failing to convert three consecutive third downs.

“We wanted to get everyone involved,” Schaub said. “We had some opportunities down the field, and I missed a few of the throws. I’ve got to make those plays for us to be successful as an offense.”

A slick play by Jacksonville’s defense midway through the second quarter created the Jaguars’ best scoring chance of the game.

Clint Session sacked Schaub and forced a fumble, triggering an impromptu double-lateral. Defensive end Matt Roth scooped it up, then flipped the ball backward to defensive tackle Terrance Knighton. Knighton chugged 7 yards, then pitched to Session who reached the Texans 10 before Foster tackled him.

Two snaps later, Gabbert threw a short TD pass to Jason Hill, Jacksonville’s first touchdown since the third quarter of a 17-13 loss to Pittsburgh two weeks ago.

The Jaguars were lucky to be tied at halftime after producing 113 yards in the half.

“We are working our butts off,” Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said, “and I’d sure like to have a little more validation for the type of effort that’s being put forth.”

Jacoby Jones returned a punt to the Jaguars 44 early in the third quarter, and Schaub threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Joel Dreessen.

Jason Allen intercepted Gabbert’s pass to Mike Sims-Walker on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the Texans stretched the lead on Foster’s 4-yard touchdown run.

Jones-Drew scored on a drive set up by Ben Tate’s fumble. The Texans used nearly the rest of the time to set up Neil Rackers’ 39-yard field goal.

Notes: Foster has 12 100-yard rushing games, a franchise record. … Texans LB Darryl Sharpton is out for the season after tearing a tendon in his right leg. … Jaguars PK Josh Scobee had his streak of 15 games with a field goal snapped. … Jacksonville is 5-9 in the week after playing a Monday night game.

Houston WR Johnson Won’t Return Against Jaguars

Johnson returned to practice this week and the Texans had hoped he would be able to play. He made progress, but Johnson said Friday that he would sit out another week.

“I don’t feel like I’m ready to play,” he said. “I’m not at full speed yet. I said I wouldn’t put myself out there until I’m able to run full speed.”

He was injured on Oct. 2 against Pittsburgh and had a minor procedure to repair the right hamstring injury early that next week.

Coach Gary Kubiak said it was difficult to make the decision to keep him out another game, but that it’s better to get him completely healthy than to rush him back and have problems later in the season.

Johnson said there isn’t anything specific he can do to speed the process, but that he simply has to continue working with trainers to improve.

“I just have to keep maintaining the rehab and keep pushing myself,” he said. “It gets frustrating because every week a game goes by that you wish you could be out there, but it’s just part of the process. I’ll just keep working hard at what I’m doing and hopefully next week I can get back on the field.”

The Texans (4-3) lost to Oakland and Baltimore in their first two games without Johnson, before bouncing back with a 41-7 win over AFC South rival Tennessee to take the division lead behind a 115-yard rushing and 119-yard receiving day by Arian Foster.

Foster’s 287 yards receiving in the last three games have led the team with Johnson out. Kevin Walter has added 168 yards and Jacoby Jones has 112 yards receiving in that span.

Johnson said he’s probably about 70 to 75 percent recovered and that it wouldn’t be smart for him to return if he isn’t close to 100 percent.

“Who wants to go out on the field and see a half speed Andre Johnson? That’s not a good thing,” he said. “You will be out there hurting your team and you could have somebody out there who could go out there and give it all they’ve got and make plays for you.”

Johnson isn’t in any pain, but said that he isn’t feeling like he did before the injury yet.

“It’s just tugging, but that’s part of it,” he said. “Those things are going to happen when you have procedures done. You just have to get used to getting back to doing things that you normally do. It’s just part of the process and I’ll just keep working on it and trying to get better.”

He had 25 receptions for 352 yards and two touchdowns in Houston’s first four games.

Jaguars Stop Ravens and Halt Skid

Stepping into the national spotlight for one night, the host Jaguars used their best defensive effort in five years to slow down Ray Rice and Joe Flacco.

Jacksonville (2-5) did not allow a first down to the Ravens (4-2) until the 5-minute-26-second mark of the third quarter, a mix of stout defense and inept offense. Scobee had two field goals from 54 yards and one from 51.

LOSE TWO STARTERS The Washington Redskins had their fortunes take another dive when running back Tim Hightower was declared out for the season with a torn knee ligament and receiver had hand surgery that is expected to sideline him for five to seven weeks.

That makes five starters lost to significant injuries over the last two weeks, coinciding with a two-game losing streak and a quarterback switch.

Hightower is the team’s leading rusher. Moss is the top wideout. Both were hurt in Sunday’s loss.

In other injury news:

¶ Quarterback Matthew Stafford is day to day after sustaining a right ankle injury in the final minutes of Detroit’s loss to Atlanta on Sunday.

¶ Denver‘s leading rusher, Willis McGahee, is expected to have surgery this week for a broken finger on his right hand and will not play against Detroit on Sunday.

¶ Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo said that quarterback Sam Bradford remained in a walking boot and that he was not sure of his availability for Sunday against the Saints.