That London game between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars? A wild one. The Texans walked out of Wembley Stadium with a 34-31 victory on October 18, 2026, after a game that saw defense take a serious holiday. Forget the immediate post-game haze, with a couple of days to clear our heads, the reality of what went down is even crazier.
Defense? What Defense?
If you love hard-nosed defense, this game was probably your nightmare fuel. Sixty-five combined points, 618 combined passing yards, 220 combined rushing yards, and eight total touchdowns with seven of those through the air. You read that right. Houston’s Matt Burke and Jacksonville’s Anthony Campanile probably had a rough flight home after that one. Seriously, a 52 percent third down conversion rate for both teams, only two interceptions (both in the end zone), and ZERO sacks? Zip, nada, nothing! You’ve got elite pass rushers like Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson Jr., Travon Walker, and Josh Hines-Allen on the field, and not one of them could get to CJ Stroud or Trevor Lawrence. Both QBs were absolutely dealing, but still, you’d expect at least one sack from that talent pool, wouldn’t you?
Houston’s Ground Attack: Trend or Fluke?
Here’s where it gets truly unbelievable: Jacksonville came into this game with what was basically a historically great run defense. They were the number one rushing defense in the league, having not allowed a single rusher more than 40 yards in five whole games. So, naturally, the Houston Texans, who boasted the 31st ranked rushing offense and had only broken 80 combined rushing yards once all season, decided to outgain the Jags on the ground with a whopping 114 combined yards. Marks exploded for 56 yards on 15 carries, and Jordan chipped in with 43 yards on just six carries, including a huge 25-yard touchdown rush in the third quarter. Marks looked way more explosive than Montgomery, who’d been a bit tentative before his Week 5 injury. Houston has to be praying this is the start of something real, not just a one-off miracle in London.
Kick Coverage Woes In A Scoring Frenzy
With all that scoring, the kick coverage units were busy. Houston’s Fairbairn seemed to be trying to land his kicks short of the end zone, forcing returns. Only one of his six kickoffs went for a touchback, and that was right before halftime. Good strategy if your coverage is elite, right? Uh, not so much. The Jaguars had five kick returns, and three of them started past the JAX 35-yard line, with one even landing in Houston territory! All three of those drives somehow found their way into the Texans’ red zone, ending in two touchdowns and an end zone interception. Ameer Abdullah is a quality kick returner for sure, but that’s not the Frank Ross standard Houston fans expect from their special teams.
In the end, the critical play came down to the wire: 4th quarter, 2:24 left, Jags ball on the Houston 48-yard line. Trevor Lawrence tried to connect with tight end Brenton Strange, but safety Calen Bullock broke up the pass. Most of the big plays were on offense in this one, with Jaylen Noel having a 50-yarder, but that defensive stop sealed it. What a wild ride for the Texans!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Battle Red Blog.
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