HOUSTON (AP) ¡ª After the Houston Texans fell to 0-3 with a
loss at home to the New York Giants on Sept.
23
Brandon Dunn Color
Rush Jersey , they appeared to be headed for a second straight losing
season.Instead, the Texans (11-5) won their next nine games and 11 of their last
13, capped by Sunday's 20-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, to clinch the AFC
South title."We have a lot bigger goals," J.J. Watt said. "I have a lot bigger
goals but it's good. Especially after starting 0-3 and everybody writes you off.
Guys in the locker room believed. Guys in the locker room never gave up."
Deshaun Watson threw for 234 yards and ran for a touchdown and DeAndre Hopkins
had 147 yards receiving in the victory.The Texans will make their fifth playoff
appearance after winning the division for the fifth time in franchise history.
Houston returns to the postseason for the third time in four years after
bouncing back a 4-12 campaign in which Watson and Watt suffered season-ending
injuries."The way we started out, it's a testament to the players in that locker
room," coach Bill O'Brien said. "They've always hung tough. And to go from 0-3
(and then) go 11-2 in this league is pretty tough to do. Give credit to the
players."Houston built a 14-point lead in the first half behind rushing
touchdowns by Watson and Lamar Miller and made it 20-3 on a 24-yard field goal
with about 11 minutes left. The Jaguars had a chance to cut the lead later in
the fourth quarter, but Blake Bortles was intercepted in the end zone by Andre
Hal.Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement that his director of football
operations, Tom Coughlin, has decided to retain coach Doug Marrone and general
manager Dave Caldwell ¡ª even though the team finished in last place a year after
playing in the AFC title game. Khan said he agreed with the decision."We get
judged on wins and losses," Marrone said. "Obviously, this year, I didn't do a
good job. Period. I'm never going to step away from that. I'm happy with the
faith because I do believe I will get this right."The Jaguars (5-11) returned to
Bortles as starter after benching the quarterback following a loss to Buffalo on
Nov. 25. But he did little to get Jacksonville's offense going, with the Jaguars
managing one first down in the opening half and finishing with six. Bortles was
15 of 28 for 107 yards.Watt sacked Bortles 1½ times to finish with 16 this year.
Watt has four seasons with 15 or more sacks, second most in NFL history to
Reggie White (five).The performance by Hopkins gives him 1,572 yards receiving
and 115 receptions this season, both career highs. His catch total tied Andre
Johnson (2008) for the most in franchise history."A lot of guys have amazing
seasons, but their team isn't where it should
be
Dylan Cole Color Rush
Jersey ," Hopkins said. "So I think everything I've been doing has
correlated to my team winning, which is even better."KEY PLAYSDede Westbrook
muffed a punt late in the first quarter, and Zach Cunningham recovered. Watson
capitalized with a 5-yard scramble that made it 10-3 early in the second
quarter.The Texans faced a third-and-6 late in the second quarter when Myles
Jack deflected a pass and Hopkins grabbed it for a 13-yard gain. Miller ran 7
yards for a touchdown on the next play, dragging two defenders into the end zone
to make it 17-3.BAD BEHAVIORCoughlin had strong words for running backs Leonard
Fournette and T.J. Yeldon after the game.Fournette, who was inactive because of
foot and ankle injuries, and Yeldon were caught by TV cameras sitting on the
bench and chatting while the offense had the ball. They were clearly disengaged
with teammates and coaches."I am disappointed in the behavior today from T.J.
Yeldon and Leonard Fournette," Coughlin said. "They were disrespectful, selfish
and their behavior was unbecoming that of a professional football player."TEXANS
NUMBERSHopkins is the fourth player in NFL history (Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison
and Brandon Marshall) to have at least 100 receptions, 1,500 yards receiving and
11 touchdowns in multiple seasons. He had 111 receptions for 1,521 yards and 11
touchdowns in 2015.Watson, who ran for 66 yards on Sunday, is the first player
in NFL history to throw for at least 4,000 yards (4,165) and 25 touchdowns (26)
and rush for 500 yards (551) and five touchdowns in a season.ANDRE AND
DEANDREHopkins brought Johnson to the podium with him after the game, and the
retired receiver raved about his protege."One thing that I appreciate about him
is when he first came into the league he asked me about things he needed to do
to better his game," Johnson said. "He took that to a whole other level. To see
what he's
accomplished
Trevor
Daniel Color Rush Jersey , what he's doing out on the field, it's
amazing."INJURIESJaguars: Jacksonville was without starting cornerback A.J.
Bouye (toe injury).Texans: Starting cornerback Johnathan Joseph sat out with a
neck injury.UP NEXTJaguars: Jacksonville must decide what to do with Bortles
before next season. Most believe he won't return in 2019 after going 24-49 as a
starter in five seasons. The third overall pick in the 2014 draft also is due to
count $21 million against the salary cap, and the Jags can save $9.5 million by
cutting him with a post-June 1 designation.Texans: Will host the winner of
Sunday night's Colts-Titans game next weekend, barring a tie between those
teams. This Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CST, the Texans will play the Colts in the
first game of the NFL Playoffs. Houston is no stranger to 3:30 p.m. playoff
games, so Saturday is nothing new. The Texans won the AFC South championship by
beating the Jaguars and dodging any serious injuries last Sunday.In that win,
J.J. Watt hurt his arm a bit, put on a second brace, and was back out there in
the second half. This little nick won¡¯t affect his play as Watt gets ready for
the Wild Card game against Andrew Luck.Johnathan Joseph was inactive for the
Jaguars game, but he too is expected to play against the Colts. He¡¯s ¡°trending
to returning¡± on Saturday, and Houston will need him to cover T.Y. Hilton,
something the Texans have been unable to do since Hilton arrived in Indy.J-Jo
may also need to chip in covering Zach Pascal and Dontrelle Inman. Finally, Keke
Coutee has been practicing. The same hamstring that¡¯s limited Coutee all year is
still bothering him; he has missed ten games because of it.I can¡¯t even remember
the last time I saw Coutee play. There¡¯s a chance he could play this weekend. I
hold my breath going through every tunnel, but I won¡¯t be with regard to Coutee
playing on Saturday.There you have it. The Texans are relatively healthy for
their playoff opener, except for Coutee, who hasn¡¯t played much at all his
rookie season.