Joe Mixon saved his best on Sunday for the second half.
The Texans beat the Jaguars, 23-20, on the road at EverBank Stadium on Sunday afternoon and pushed their record to an AFC South-leading 8-5.
The veteran running back piled up 82 of his 101 rushing yards in the second half, averaging nearly 7.5 yards a carry after the intermission. He also rumbled for the game's first touchdown, and then closed the contest with a flurry of clock-burning carries that iced Houston's victory. Head Coach DeMeco Ryans and the Texans depended on Mixon when it mattered, and he came through in the game's final 30 minutes.
"Joe's an old school running back," Ryans said. "He's a guy who wants it 30 times, and he keeps getting better the more touches that he gets."
Mixon's score in the third quarter gave Houston a lead it would never relinquish, and he's now the only player in NFL history to log 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in six consecutive road games. He also caught a quartet of passes for 18 receiving yards.
But the Texans held a 3-point lead when they got the ball back with 3:31 remaining. Jacksonville had a pair of timeouts and had scored touchdowns on each of its two previous possessions. With a stop, they could get the ball back and have a chance to steal a victory.
Mixon and Houston, though, slammed that proverbial door shut. He carried five straight times, getting stopped at the line of scrimmage on his first of those five, and then breaking loose for gains of 14 and two yards on the next two. The Jaguars used their final timeouts after those carries, and then saw Mixon pick up four more yards as the clock wound into the 2-minute warning. On 3rd-and-4 after the break, Mixon gained eight more yards, and the Texans were able to kneel out the clock in victory formation with C.J. Stroud.
"When we needed it most, that's when you have to put your best sh*t on tape," Mixon said. "I'm just glad we were able to do that. We were able to close it out in running fashion."
That was Mixon's seventh game this season with 100 or more yards on the ground.
"You talk about a guy who plays with the relentless mindset, the tenacity that you need," Ryans said. "To still turn out yards even when I mean, they're loading the box and to still be able to find a way to get yards."
Stroud credited Mixon with helping the offense, and said he thinks the best is still to come, in large part because of his addition.
"Now I feel like we're starting to get that rhythm," Stroud said. "And we got to just keep it going."
Mixon and the Texans won't play next Sunday because of their bye week. They'll return to action in Week 15 with a noon contest at NRG Stadium against the Dolphins.
