Rich’s Biggest Takeaways from the Texans’ Pivotal Week 6 Win over the Jaguars

The game of the day came from London. The Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars put on what the studio agreed was the most well-played game of the weekend: no sacks, both quarterbacks lighting it up, and a finish that came down to the very end.

There were takeaways, too, and one player was in the middle of most of them. Travis Hunter became the first player since Brian Dawkins in 2002, and only the fourth ever, to record a receiving touchdown and an interception in the same game. He did it on back-to-back drives, catching the touchdown and then flipping over to defense.

"This is what we thought we were getting last year," someone in the studio said. It's the reason the Jaguars traded up and spent the capital.

Hunter's day wasn't clean, though. He was flagged for lollygagging off the field on a punt, leaving 12 men on the field in what amounted to a de facto turnover back to Houston.

Rich also noted that Hunter seems to love Wembley. Rich called the Jaguars-Rams game there last year, when Hunter had the only 100-yard receiving game of his career in that building. Rich later confirmed it: Hunter's first career receiving touchdown came at Wembley last year, he added another there on Sunday, and he has zero anywhere else. "He loves London," came the reply in the studio. Maybe he wants the team to relocate.

The game also ended on a kick, which led to a fair question from the studio: do fans at Wembley think the kicker and the tight end are the two most important positions in football? There were four tight end touchdowns on Sunday, and the London games ended on kicks two weeks running, Cam Little one week and Ka'imi Fairbairn the next.

Then there's C.J. Stroud, who looked to the studio like the rookie C.J. Stroud again. That killed a running studio dream: an NFL team telling a top-drafted quarterback it won't pay him the market rate just because it drafted him, not before he's won a Super Bowl or gotten the team close. "My dream's dead for C.J. Stroud being that guy," came the verdict. "He's getting paid."

One voice in the studio even tried to take credit. "I would like to think I inspired C.J.," to some laughter.

Stroud's only blemish was an interception by Hunter, his first pick of the season. Other than that, as Rich put it, "he has been on point."

The bigger picture is the AFC South flip. Houston is 2-4. Jacksonville is 4-2. Rich called it an Overreaction Monday subject: who do you feel better about right now?

Rich is puzzled by the Jaguars in London. For the second straight year, they were the team in London for an entire week, fully acclimated to the time zone, facing an opponent that arrived on Friday. And they lost. "I don't get that," he said.

The Houston defense still isn't what it was. Trevor Lawrence threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns, the first time in his career he has thrown four touchdowns and lost. Rich also pointed out that Lawrence and Kirk Cousins now lead the NFL in passing touchdowns. "Who would have thunk it?"

With Indianapolis 2-4, having fired its general manager and put its coach on notice, and the Tennessee Titans just getting their first win, Rich sees the division as Houston versus Jacksonville. Sunday was technically a Jaguars home game, and the two meet again in Houston in week 15.

Jacksonville takes a bye now, which it didn't do last year. Rich recalled how the Jaguars went straight from London to Vegas last year, won in overtime by the skin of their teeth, and then eviscerated everyone until their playoff loss to Buffalo. This time they get Indianapolis at home in week eight, a big Thursday night week nine trip to Baltimore, then Tennessee and the Giants. The Baltimore game matters for a possible wild card tiebreaker if neither team wins its division.

Houston's path is promising, too. The Texans host the Giants next and can get to 3-4. After the bye they visit the Chargers, where Rich thinks they can get back to .500, then go to Cleveland before welcoming the Colts on a Thursday night.

"Okay, game on," Rich said. "Texans appear to be back."