It wasn't the flashiest win.
In fact, Brock Osweiler did not break 100 yards in Sunday's 24-21 win in Jacksonville, completing just 14-of-27 for 99 yards. He did, however, throw two touchdown passes and play a clean game with no interceptions.
"I think the most important thing in November and December, and Coach (Bill) O'Brien keeps preaching it, is that you need to be able to protect the football," Osweiler said after the game. "We were able to do that and that was huge."
Running the ball effectively was second on the offensive priority list, Osweiler added. The Texans did that too, with the collective efforts of Lamar Miller, Akeem Hunt, Alfred Blue, and Osweiler, who also added 23 yards on 3 carries. The Texans set a new season-high with 181 net yards rushing.
Houston's defense wanted to force more turnovers. With just six takeaways heading into Week 10, the Texans added two more on Sunday, including their first defensive touchdown of the 2016 season on a pick-six by Kareem Jackson. Whitney Mercilus picked up the second takeaway on a fumble recovery in the second quarter. Head coach Bill O'Brien was pleased with the defense's effort Sunday.
"They scored a touchdown," O'Brien said. "They hung there, they battled. I thought they came up with some big stops when they had to, so like I said, it was a good team effort."
The Texans improve to 6-3 on the season, 3-0 against AFC South teams. For the first time since the 2012 season, Houston is three games above .500.
"We don't worry about stats," O'Brien said. "I think everyone needs to understand that in the National Football League it's all about winning. It's about winning. Whatever it takes to win that is what we try to do. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but six times this year it has worked out and three times it hasn't. Hopefully, we can be on the positive side of the ledger."
The Texans head to Mexico City in Week 11 to face the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football.
The Texans faced the Jaguars at EverBank Field in Week 10.
