Brandin Cooks did it again.
Every time the veteran receiver's suited up against the Jaguars, his team has been victorious and he's been extremely productive.
It was more of the same in Sunday's 30-16 triumph at Jacksonville.
Cooks finished with seven catches for 102 yards and a pair of scores. His first came on the Texans' opening possession, a 22-yarder to cap a 15-play scoring drive. Cooks' second touchdown was a 43-yarder, coming on 3rd-and-9 with the Texans holding a 23-16 advantage and 2:22 remaining in the contest.
"That was awesome," QB Davis Mills said. "Kind of sealed the deal. That was the dagger. I felt like we started fast today, and then we stalled out a little bit. That picked us back up and assured the win, and it was a great feeling."
For Cooks, it was the second-straight game with 100 receiving yards or more and the fourth time this season, he's cracked the century mark. He now has 945 receiving yards in 2021 and can tally his sixth-career year with 1,000 or more yards by picking up 55 yards over the final three games of the season.
In between Weeks 4 and 13, the Texans struggled mightily, dropping every game but one in that span. Cooks mustered 80 receiving yards or more in that nine-game stretch but said his mental focus never wavered.
"My mindset was always just 'pushing through'," Cooks said. "Continue to show up for practice and try to get better. No matter how bad it looks, sooner or later, if we just keep working hard, things will change."
According to Texans Head Coach David Culley, Cooks' consistency, despite the stats and team outcomes, has been a positive.
"He's been the same guy, from the start to the finish," Culley said. "Obviously, when he was making a lot of plays for us, people were trying to take him out of the game and other guys had to come up and try to make plays. Today, we happened to put him in a situation and that last play we called on that touchdown, there was nobody going to touch that ball but him because of the confidence we have in him."
Including a 2017 AFC title game appearance with New England and a 2015 Week 16 contest with the Saints, Cooks has now played six career games against the Jaguars. He's caught 34 passes for 701 yards, with five touchdowns. The team he's played for has beaten Jacksonville all six times.
His heroics played a large part in the Texans picking up their third victory of 2021, but Cooks is intent on helping add to that total.
"We still have to have that mindset," Cooks said. "We've got three games to go, and let's see how good we can get down this three-game stretch."
Cooks and company will get that chance the day after Christmas, as the Texans host the Los Angeles Chargers.
Catch that game at NRG Stadium on December 26. Kickoff is set for noon CT. Click here for tickets.
