JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Texans' offense couldn't be stopped in the second half of Sunday's game at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Unfortunately, neither could the Jacksonville Jaguars', and it was the Jaguars who got the ball last when they won the coin toss in overtime.
Josh Scobee's 37-yard field goal sent the Texans home with a 30-27 overtime loss that drops them to 0-3 heading into a four-game homestand at Reliant Stadium. All six of the Texans and Jaguars' second-half possessions produced points, and the lead changed twice in the fourth quarter in a frantic finish capped by Scobee's game-winning kick.
"It was real tough, one of the toughest (games) I've been in," linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. "Just to come so close and to not be on the winning side is very, very tough. It was a very hard-fought game. I'm very proud of the guys, the way we fought them to stay in it, but we definitely want to be on the (winning) side of the locker room right now."
Quarterback Matt Schaub had his best outing of the season, feasting on a battered Jaguars secondary to complete 29-of-40 passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, no sacks and a 119.5 passer rating.
"I felt pretty good about what I was doing out there," Schaub said. "I felt like I was seeing things really well and guys were stepping up and making plays for us. We were able to move the football today."
Schaub connected with wide receiver Kevin Walter for two second-half touchdowns, and running back Steve Slaton caught a 30-yard scoring pass in the first half. Walter finished with eight catches for 76 yards, tight end Owen Daniels had 87 yards on seven receptions and Slaton had 116 yards from scrimmage in his second career start.
Jaguars quarterback David Garrard countered with 236 yards passing and a touchdown, going 23-of-32 with a 103.1 passer rating. He also gashed the Texans' defense by scrambling for 41 yards with a touchdown late in the game.
Garrard set up Scobee's game-winner with two big completions in the opening series of overtime. The first was a 24-yard pass to receiver Matt Jones on third-and-five from the Jacksonville 35. Garrard followed that with a 22-yard pass to fullback Greg Jones on the next play to put Jacksonville at the Houston 19. Scobee took the field on second down for the clinching field goal.
Texans kicker Kris Brown sent the game to overtime with a 47-yard field goal with one second remaining in regulation. The kick came after Schaub led the Texans 53 yards down the field in 1:47 with only one timeout at his disposal.
{QUOTE}One possession earlier, Garrard's five-yard rushing touchdown put the Jaguars ahead 27-24 with 1:48 on the clock. Garrard (6-1, 245) had two other pivotal first down runs during the drive - a 13-yard scramble on third-and-10 from the Houston 48-yard line and a nine-yard run up the middle on fourth-and-eight from the Houston 18 with 2:27 left in the game.
"He's a presence when he starts to move," Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said. You've got to tackle him just like you tackle their backs."
The Texans took a 24-20 lead with 7:11 remaining in the game when Schaub hit Walter for an eight-yard score on third-and-goal. It was the Texans' final lead of the game. The touchdown was set up by Schaub's 21-yard pass to Walter on second-and-15 from the Jacksonville 44, after which Slaton darted up the middle for 13 yards to give the Texans a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line.
On the Jaguars' opening drive, backup fullback Montell Owens scored on a 41-yard touchdown run on fourth down and four. Jacksonville lined up in a punt formation with an extra lineman instead of a punter on the play, and Owens took a direct snap to the end zone for his first career score.
Houston responded with Brown's 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter. His kick ended a 12-play, 56-yard scoring drive that started after Jacoby Jones returned a punt 17 yards to the Houston 40. The Texans got first downs on the drive on a 12-yard screen pass to Slaton, a career-long 17-yard carry by running back Chris Taylor and a 16-yard reception by Daniels.
On Houston's first touchdown drive, Schaub completed passes for first downs to Daniels (13 yards), Walter (nine yards) and wide receiver Andre Johnson (13 yards), who had three catches for 38 yards, before his scoring toss to Slaton.
With 19 seconds remaining in the first half, Scobee made a 48-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10. Jacksonville was forced to kick when safety C.C. Brown broke up a pass intended for tight end Marcedes Lewis on third-and-seven.
After Garrard's 16-yard touchdown pass to Matt Jones on the opening drive of the second half, the Texans tied the game 17-17 with an 11-play series ending with Walter's five-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone.
Scobee's 40-yard field goal in the fourth quarter made the score 20-17. Ryans deflected Garrard's pass intended for Lewis on third down to force the Jaguars' offense off the field.
In the loss, the Texans went 9-of-13 on third down a week after going 3-of-15 in a loss at Tennessee. Houston scored on five of its last six possessions and totaled 386 yards of offense to outgain Jacksonville by 11 yards.
The Texans also won the time of possession battle, 32:20 to 31:15. Jacksonville held the ball for 41:35 last week against the Indianapolis Colts.
"It hurts a lot any time you lose in this business, but knowing that we were that close to winning this week, we played a much better game across the board," Schaub said. "Falling one play short, that hurts, but it's the nature of this game. You go to overtime and you flip a coin, you hope you get the ball first, but if not, you hope your defense goes out there and makes a play.
"(The Jaguars) were able to just make the plays today. We fell one play short, and it hurts."
Injury report: Texans safety C.C. Brown was taken to a local hopsital for x-rays of his right arm, which he fractured in the second half. Brown will have surgery on Monday, according to Kubiak.
Ryans tweaked his ankle in the second quarter but missed only two plays before returning to the game. Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis suffered a bruised shin in the first half and did not return.
