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Jaguars must be wary of Texans

Sep 23, 2008 - 5:03 PM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars rescued their season last week. Now they face an opponent looking to do the same.

Fresh off a dramatic last-second victory, the Jaguars host the winless Houston Texans on Sunday in an AFC South matchup.

Josh Scobee booted a 51-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Jaguars to a 23-21 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, preventing Jacksonville (1-2) from falling to 0-3 on the season.

A reinvigorated rushing attack fueled the Jaguars' victory, as Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor each rumbled for more than 100 yards against the Colts.

Jacksonville, which had scored just 26 points in its first two losses, controlled the ball for more than 26 minutes in the second half behind their bruising running game.

"We're always confident that we can run the ball," said Taylor, who piled up 121 yards on 26 carries. "It doesn't always work out that way, but ... we were able to have some explosive big plays."

Not coincidentally, quarterback David Garrard had his most efficient outing of the season, completing 16-of-22 passes for 167 yards.

Although Garrard did throw another interception to give him four on the season - one more than he had in 2007 - he led the winning drive, hitting three consecutive completions to set up Scobee's field goal.

Houston, which had its Week Two contest against Baltimore postponed due to Hurricane Ike, also is looking to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole following a 31-12 beating at Tennessee.

Because of the bye week courtesy of Ike, the Texans are opening the season with three consecutive road contests.

Against the Titans, the Texans could not overcome a miserable performance by Matt Schaub, who was just 17-of-37 for 188 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions - including a 99-yard return for a touchdown by Cortland Finnegan with just over a minute to play.

Houston came away empty on four trips in Tennessee territory in the second half alone, including twice inside the 10-yard line.

"We're there on fourth down inside the 5-yard line, inside the 10 twice and we weren't able to convert," Schaub said. "We can't put ourselves in a fourth-down situation. We just have to convert on third down. That starts with me. I have to play better."

One bright spot for the Texans was rookie running back Steve Slaton, who rushed for 116 yards and one touchdown in his first NFL start.

Houston has been a nemesis for Jacksonville, winning seven of 12 meetings since it entered the league in 2002.