Arian Foster led the Texans to a 27-7 victory over the Jags. (Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Arian Foster ran for 69 yards and a touchdown in the first half as the Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-7 Sunday in front of 62,907 at EverBank Field.
Foster, who has overcome a knee injury and the flu in the first two weeks of the NFL season, helped Houston build a 17-0 halftime lead.
Foster missed practice on Wednesday with a bug that had been going around the Houston locker room but it had no more effect on him than his knee injury did in the first week. He finished with 110 yards on 28 carries for the Texans (2-0), who are the only team in the AFC South to win their first two games.
Last week, Foster gained 79 yards and scored two TDs in a 30-10 victory over Miami, after he was listed as questionable.
The Houston defense dominated the Jaguars (0-2), allowing only one possession across midfield in the first half and holding Jacksonville to only seven first downs. Defensive end J.J. Watt had one sack, recovered a fumble and deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage.
After showing flashes of improvement over a horrific rookie season last week in a 26-23 overtime loss to the Vikings, Jags quarterback Blaine Gabbert reverted to form and completed 7-of-19 passes for only 53 yards and a passer rating of 62.82 before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter because of a leg injury.
First-round draft pick Justin Blackmon was held without a catch. Maurice Jones-Drew, the NFL rushing leader last season who held out for 38 days in the preseason, managed only 12 carries for 60 yards.
The Jaguars emphasized blanketing Texans’ receiver Andre Johnson (three receptions, 21 yards) but that left other avenues open for quarterback Matt Schaub. He used seven receivers and completed 26 of 35 passes for 195 yards. Tight end Owen Daniels matched Foster’s six receptions.
Foster’s backup Ben Tate scored twice and gained 74 yards on 12 carries.
Kicker Shayne Graham opened and closed the Texans’ scoring with field goals of 31 and 37 yards.
Notes: Schaub continued his winning ways on the road for the Texans in his first road game since last November against Tampa Bay. Since 2009, Schaub is second among active NFL quarterbacks in average yards per game in road games (302), third in passer rating (102.2) and fourth in completion percentage (66.7). He has thrown 39 TD passes and only 14 interceptions in road games. … The Jaguars’ battered offensive line included one starter, Herb Taylor, who was only signed by the team six days before the game. Taylor filled in for Eben Britton at left guard. … The Jags also were without cornerback Derek Cox and linebacker Daryl Smith. … The Texans won their fourth game in a row over Jacksonville and are 12-9 overall against the Jags. … Jones-Drew’s 5-yard TD pass from Gabbert in the third quarter resulted in two milestones. Jones-Drew became the fourth active NFL player to score 75 touchdowns or more (Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzales and Randy Moss are the others) and the conversion gave kicker Josh Scobee the franchise record for scoring with 765 points, passing Mike Hollis. … The Jaguars recognized Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richardson-Ross during the game, after she signed autographs for fans under the stadium for 45 minutes. Richardson-Ross is the wife of Jaguars cornerback Aaron Ross. She won the 400 meters and was on the gold medal-winning 1,600 team.
