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Carr picks apart Jaguars again as Texans roll

Oct 22, 2006 - 8:04 PM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- David Carr had his way with the Jacksonville Jaguars once again.

Carr passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns as the lowly Houston Texans rolled to a 27-7 triumph over the Jaguars in a battle of AFC South rivals.

It was the second straight home victory for the Texans (2-4), who have won four of their last seven meetings with the Jaguars.

"We got emotional today," Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. "It was about the fight and fighting for four quarters. I told the guys that the only people that can save you are yourselves."

The top overall draft selection in 2002, Carr has struggled with his accuracy and his decision making over his four-plus seasons in the NFL. But the 27-year-old has been outstanding against Jacksonville, passing for 1,801 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight career games.

"When we play Jacksonville, we always play with a lot of confidence," Carr said. "In the past couple of years, we've matched up against them very well. All you have to do is make three or four yards for this offense to work."

On Sunday, Carr completed 25-of-34 attempts while Andre Johnson had eight receptions for 106 yards and a TD. Rookie Wali Lundy ran for 93 yards and a TD on 19 carries for Houston, which completely dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

"I just wanted to see the hole and hit it today," Lundy said. "The offensive line did a good job and opened up some lanes for me. When you're out there, you have to be decisive."

"Wali being able to run the ball really well helped," Johnson added. "It opened up our passing game a whole lot. When you have both of those things working, how can you lose?"

The Texans took the lead for good with 12:24 remaining in the first half when Carr found Andre Johnson for a 35-yard TD. Carr dropped back on 3rd-and-7 with plenty of protection and lofted a perfect pass to the left side of the end zone for the 6-3 Johnson, who outjumped two defenders for his third score of the season.

Jacksonville cut its deficit to 10-7 with 9:20 left in the third quarter on rookie Maurice Jones-Drew's one-yard TD scamper, but Houston pushed its advantage to 17-7 with 11:32 remaining on Lundy's two-yard score.

The Texans' defense all but sealed the victory on the ensuing possession when safety Demarcus Faggins drilled Jaguars wide receiver Ernest Wilford, forcing a fumble. Linebacker Morlon Greenwood scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the Jacksonville 26.

Two plays later, Carr found rookie tight end Owen Daniels for a 14-yard TD, pushing Houston's lead to 24-7 with 9:57 remaining.

"The defense did a great job of holding down a team that can really be explosive," Carr said. "When they do that, we have to return the favor and put points on the board."

"We had a decent first half, but the key was the way we came back and put 17 points on the board in the second half," Johnson added.

Byron Leftwich went 14-of-28 for 125 yards for the Jaguars (3-3), who were coming off a bye week.

"We had another stinker on the road. In many respects, we have to grow up as a team," Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said. "A lot of our veteran front-line guys are banged up and our young guys are stepping up, but we didn't fill the gaps and rally around them very well today."

The Jaguars managed just 220 yards of total offense and converted 3-of-12 third downs against a Texans defense which entered allowing an average of 419 yards per game.

"We played extremely well all day long," Kubiak said. "We took a step in the right direction. We met some challenges today, but there are more to meet."