LONDON — The Jacksonville Jaguars fought back from 10 points down in London on Sunday, only to watch Houston kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn drill a 49-yarder on the last snap at Wembley Stadium to give the Texans a 34-31 win.
Jacksonville had pulled even moments earlier. Two-way standout Travis Hunter picked off C.J. Stroud in the end zone, and Cam Little followed with a 60-yard boot to make it 31-31. One week before, Little had won a game against the Eagles with a 57-yard kick across town at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Stroud then had just under two minutes to answer, and he moved Houston into range for the winner. The kick went through at 12:49 p.m. Eastern, a little more than three hours after the 9:30 a.m. kickoff.
Trevor Lawrence threw four scoring passes for Jacksonville. Two went to Bhayshul Tuten, from 27 and 2 yards, and a 1-yard toss to rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher trimmed the gap to 24-21. Houston pushed its lead back to 31-21 late in the third quarter when Jawhar Jordan broke a 25-yard touchdown run.
Hunter’s 7-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter got the Jaguars within 31-28. Catching a scoring pass and making an interception in one game put him in rare company: he is only the fifth player of the Super Bowl era, playoffs included, to do both.
Stroud finished 24 of 34 for 312 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to tight end Foster Moreau and one to Jaylin Noel. The pick by Hunter was the first he had thrown all season. Flags hurt Jacksonville again, the third week in a row that penalties were a problem, and a too-many-men call on a Texans punt kept alive the drive that ended in Noel’s score.
Jaguars coach Liam Coen said he was proud of how his team kept battling after falling behind. Jacksonville is now 4-2 and still atop the AFC South, while Houston has won two straight to reach 2-4.
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