HOUSTON — The Houston Texans at the bottom of virtually every power rankin, and 0-17 wasn’t out of the question for some pundits. Coming off a 4-12 season the year before, a win in 2021 seemed improbable due to the loss of J.J. Watt and the suspended animation of Deshaun Watson.
But Sunday afternoon, the Texans achieved what many deemed impossible by taking a 37-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium.
With the win, the Texans are the only team in the AFC South who won their season opener — standing in first place with a 1-0 record. Houston also recorded their first season opener win since 2016 and extended their winning streak over the Jags to seven.
“We don’t care about them people,” running back Mark Ingram said during his media availability following the game. “We all believe in each other. We all have faith in each other. We all hold each other accountable. And we believe we have what we need in order to have success.”
The Texans played a near-complete game on both sides of the field but received a significant boost from their defense. Houston’s play on the defensive side of the ball made the debut of Trevor Lawrence a subpar performance, as the rookie quarterback from Clemson threw three interceptions in the loss for Jacksonville.
Defensive end Whitney Mercilus recorded Lawerence’s lone sack of the game.
“Whenever you got a young quarterback and it’s his first game in the NFL, you want to make it as hard as possible for him,” linebacker Christain Kirksey said. “As a veteran defense, it is our job to create takeaways like we did today. Now it is time for us to look forward to Week 2.”
During his official debut with the Texans, Tyrod Taylor threw for over 200 yards for the first time since 2018 with the Cleveland Browns. He went 21-for-33 for 291 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Brandin Cooks put together one of his best games since his arrival to Houston last summer, recording 132 yards on five catches. Cooks’ longest was a 52-yard reception that set up a touchdown from Dany Amendola for the Texans to take a 27-7 led into the halftime break.
“The only noise that matters to this team is the noise that is inside of this build,” coach David Culley said. “When we went out and played this game, [I said] if we go out and play this game the right way, we will have a chance to win this game. We did that today, and we won.”
After the win over their AFC South counterparts, the Texans’ schedule will get a bit more challenging, beginning with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. It could be a while before Houston records another victory this season — but at least they have one victory next to their name.