(SportsRadio 610) - In a tie ballgame at 6-6, coming out of halftime, the Texans had yet to figure out how to limit Jacksonville from making the big play.
With the Jaguars driving, quarterback Trevor Lawrence found tight end Evan Engram in the deep middle for 28 yards on a 2nd-and-8. Two plays later, Lawrence hit Marvin Jones for a 17-yard gain on a 2nd-and-11.
Lawrence and the Jaguars offense had gashed the Texans four times in the first half on plays that went for 20-plus yards, and were at it again, determined to find the end zone this time.
However, none of those chunk plays had proved particularly costly, as the Jags converted just one of their five third-down opportunities in the first half.
Yet, three plays after Jones was tackled at the Texans 29-yard line on a 17-yard pick-up, the Jags moved the chains on a 3rd-and-4 with Lawrence finding receiver Zay Jones for a seven-yard gain, down to the Texans 16-yard line.
Jaguars running back Travis Etienne ran for nine more, giving Doug Pederson options on a 2nd-and-short from the Texans seven-yard line.
With the Texans still struggling to stop the run to that point, it was a more than rational thought that Etienne would get his number called again to try and give the Jaguars their first lead in the game.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson lamented some play calls he made after the game.
“Yeah, that's on me. Play caller,” Pederson said. “Got to call more plays to him. We'll figure that out.”
Pederson went play action instead, rolling Lawrence out to his right looking for Jones in the back corner.
Safety Jonathan Owens had inside leverage on Jones, who ran a crossing route from the defenses right.
Rookie corner Derek Stingley Jr. took any chance away at Lawrence fitting that ball into a window outside, with a beautifully timed spin and jump, to out-leverage Jones on the outside, snatching the ball out of the air for his first career interception.
Stingley Jr., returned the ball to the Texans own two-yard line instead of kneeling it, yet all was forgiven as the Texans offense bailed out the rookie mistake, so-to-speak, driving the ball 12-plays and 49-yards that trimmed 8:10 off of the game clock.
Texans head coach Lovie Smith, who earned his first win as a head coach in the league since December 2015, when he coached Tampa Bay, said the big interception by the rookie was hardly surprising to him.
"Stingley is going to be a great player," Smith said. "I've talked about how smart he is knowing the game. He learns something every snap. I thought he competed hard."
Shaun Bijani has spent the last 16 years covering the Houston sports scene for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @ShaunBijani.
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