Jaguars in a battle at the break with Texans

The Jaguars are in a battle with the Texans at halftime.

Trevor Lawrence tossed a touchdown pass to Brian Thomas Jr. and Cam Little has booted a pair of field goals but the Jaguars trail Houston 17-13 at the break. Defensive issues have hurt Jacksonville throughout. CJ Stroud has passed for 215 yards at halftime.

Jacksonville went three and out on its opening drive but wound up catching a break. Steven Sims muffed the punt and Daniel Thomas recovered at the 2. Lawrence hit Thomas on the next play for a 7-0 lead. Lawrence has overthrown both Thomas and Christian Kirk on plays that would have gone for big gains, including one to Thomas in the end zone. The Jaguars wound up settling for a Cam Little field goal on that drive.

Little has field goals of 52 and 41 yards for the Jaguars.

The defense has had its struggles against Houston. The Texans covered 70 yards on their first scoring drive and then ate up 74 yards on 12 plays for their second. Stroud hit Nico Collins on a 3-yard touchdown for a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter. The killer play on that drive was a third-down holding call on safety Antonio Johnson. Pressure had already forced Stroud to throw it away. The Texans took advantage of the new set of downs and turned it into a touchdown.