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Texans miss playoffs despite win over Jaguars

Dec 29, 2014 - 12:10 AM Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Andre Johnson had 10 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown and J.J. Watt made NFL history as the Houston Texans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-17 on Sunday.

Watt finished with three sacks to become the first player to ever record 20- plus sacks in multiple seasons (2012, 2014) for the Texans (9-7), who despite doing their part in the win were unable to secure the playoff spot due to Baltimore's win over Cleveland.

"They gave me a hundred million, I'm trying to give them a hundred million's worth," Watt said. "I'm looking forward to getting back to work. I wasn't ready for it to end."

Case Keenum completed 25-of-35 passes for 250 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception and Arian Foster made a 10-yard touchdown catch before exiting late in the first quarter with a hamstring injury.

Blake Bortles completed 14-of-33 passes for 117 yards and also rushed for 61 yards on three carries for the Jaguars (3-13), who finished the season with an 0-8 road record.

"We had some adversity happen and battled through it," Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley said. "Here it was a game, the last game of the season, and I thought their effort was tremendous and they battled throughout."

Cecil Shorts made five catches for 47 yards and also completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Todman on a trick play in the loss.

With under five minutes to play in the third quarter, Chris Clemons sacked Keenum, jarring the ball loose for Ryan Davis to recover at Houston's 23.

The Jaguars took advantage of the fumble on the very next play as Bortles tossed a backward lateral to Shorts, who found a wide-open Todman down field for a 23-yard touchdown and a 17-14 lead.

Keenum responded by leading the Texans on an impressive 12-play, 80-yard march. Johnson made four catches for 44 yards on the drive and hauled in Keenum's 8-yard TD strike for a 21-17 less than two minutes into the fourth.

Watt rolled off a guard and sacked Bortles in the end zone for his milestone 10-yard sack and a safety, making it a 23-17 game with 5:37 remaining.

Jacksonville got the ball back with 2:51 to play. Bortles kept the ball and ran 34 yards down to Houston's 10. After an incompletion and an Allen Hurns' 5-yard catch, Bortles' throw sailed past Mercedes Lewis. On 4th-and- goal, Bortles hurriedly lofted a pass to Shorts, who made the catch out of bounds.

Houston took over with 1:21 to play and ran out the rest of the clock.

After the Jaguars punted on their opening drive, Damaris Johnson exploded out of the backfield for a pickup of 34 yards to move the Texans deep into their opponents' territory. On the very next play, Foster found the end zone on a 10-yard catch-and-run for an early Houston lead.

The Jaguars responded with a 7-play, 45-yard drive that ended with Josh Scobee's 53-yard field goal.

Keenum threw behind DeAndre Hopkins and Dwayne Gratz picked it off and returned the ball 55 yards for a touchdown, giving the Jaguars a 10-7 lead with 2:55 left in the first quarter.

On 3rd-and-goal, Alfred Blue followed a lead block and pushed his way into the end zone from a yard out to cap Houston's lengthy 14-play, 74-yard march with a 14-10 lead.

Jacksonville had a chance to pull within a point on its first drive of the second half, but Scobee's 51-yard attempt hit off the left upright.

Game Notes

Watt finished with 20 1/2 sacks this season and trailed only Kansas City linebacker Justin Houston, who had 22 ... Gratz's interception was the first one returned for a score for Jacksonville in 26 games, since Paul Posluszny picked off Peyton Manning for a 59-yard scored in a 35-19 loss to Denver on Oct. 13, 2013 ... The Jaguars set a franchise record with its 19th forced fumble of the season. The previous record was 18 in 1997 ... Bortles broke Byron Leftwich's rookie team record with 2,908 yards passing this season ... Jacksonville finished 0-for-11 on third down and were outgained 358-233 by Houston.