The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-31 at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, October 18, in front of 82,497 fans, ESPN’s scoreboard showed. Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 24 of 34 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception, and Jaylin Noel had four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Elsewhere in Week 7 the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 22-6, the Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys 23-13, the Buffalo Bills won 33-30 in Las Vegas, the Arizona Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Rams 18-16, and the Cleveland Browns beat the Baltimore Ravens 13-10. The Chicago Bears won 31-23 in Atlanta and the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets 26-19.
The case that Houston’s win says something about their offence is clear in Stroud’s numbers. He completed about 71 percent of his passes, 24 of 34, for 312 yards and three touchdowns, and Noel’s 107 receiving yards and a touchdown came on only four catches. The Texans scored 34 points against a Jaguars side that entered the game at 4-2, according to ESPN’s pre-game records, while Houston started at 2-4, so the win lifts them to 3-4 on the basis of those records. Thirty-four points is a high total for any side,, matched only by New Orleans, whose 34-27 win over the Giants at MetLife Stadium, in front of 82,905, produced the same total, so Houston’s output was among the best of the day.
The case against reading too much into it is that the margin was three points and Houston gave up 31. Stroud also threw an interception, and the defence allowed 31 points, so the game was decided by the narrowest of margins. The Jaguars, who entered 4-2, lost a game in which they scored more than 30 points. The win only brings Houston to 3-4 by the same arithmetic, which is still below .500. Across the Sunday schedule, four of the 12 games were decided by three points or fewer, including this one, Baltimore’s 10-13 loss at Cleveland, Arizona’s 18-16 win at the Rams and Buffalo’s 33-30 win in Las Vegas, so Houston’s three-point margin was typical rather than exceptional.
The London game matters beyond the standings because it drew 82,497 to Wembley, a big crowd for the NFL’s game in Britain. In the United States the other results moved the standings as well: the Chargers entered the Chiefs game at 0-6 and lost 22-6 in front of 73,640 at Arrowhead, the Chiefs entered at 5-0, and the Buccaneers, 1-5 before the game, lost to Pittsburgh 26-19. Carolina won 25-14 in Philadelphia and Green Bay won 23-13 over Dallas in front of 77,383 at Lambeau Field. Chicago beat Atlanta 31-23 and New Orleans beat the Giants 34-27.
Houston’s win was a statement from Stroud and the offence, but with a three-point margin and 31 points conceded it leaves more questions than answers. Week 7 showed how many games turn on a field goal, and Week 8 will show who can win without one.
