The Texans clinched their third AFC South division title in four years with a 20-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Houston became the first team to start the season 0-3 and finish as division champions since the 1992 San Diego Chargers.
"It means a lot," head coach Bill O'Brien said after the game. "These guys have worked hard, especially the way we started out. It's a testament to the players in that locker room. They've always hung tough, and to go from 0-3, then go 11-2 in this league, pretty tough to do. Give credit to the players."
In the regular season finale, Houston offense put up 342 net yards of offense (208 passing, 134 rushing). Deshaun Watson completed 25-of-35 for 234 yards and added 13 carries for a team-high 66 yards and a touchdown. DeAndre Hopkins led the Texans with 12 receptions for 147 yards in his seventh 100-yard performance in 2018. Lamar Miller rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown after missing Week 16 with an ankle injury.
"It felt good," Miller said. "I'm happy to be back out there with my teammates. Right now, it's a one-game mentality. It's win or go home. Every week we have to put our best foot forward and we just have to finish. That's it."
The Texans defense held the Jaguars to just 119 net yards of offense (89 passing, 30 rushing) and just six first downs. Blake Bortles was 15-of-28 for 107 yards, one interception and a 47.8 passer rating. Andre Hal picked off Bortles while J.J. Watt finished with four tackles (three solo), 1.5 sacks, one quarterback hit and one forced fumble.
"I though today we tuned out a lot of noise, played our kind of football and I thought it worked to our advantage," Tyrann Mathieu said. "I think if we could just continue to do that, you know take care of the football, take the football away, and defensively, keep offenses in check and give the ball back to our quarterback – we've got a special quarterback – if we can give the ball to him, we'll be alright."
The Texans finished the 2018 regular season with an 11-5 regular season record, including 4-2 against AFC South opponents. Houston could still earn a first-round bye in the postseason with losses by both Kansas City (11-4) and the Los Angeles Chargers (11-4). If both the Chiefs and Chargers win, the Texans will host the winner of the Colts-Titans Sunday night game during next weekend's AFC Wild Card game.
See photos of Texans players as they arrive at NRG Stadium for today's game against the Jaguars. Arrival photos are presented by Palais Royal. Vote your favorite gameday outfit here!