JACKSONVILLE – This was one-sided in many, many ways.

But not in the most important way.

The Jaguars' key divisional game Sunday went the wrong way in that way. Despite outgaining the Houston Texans much of the game, the Jaguars lost to their AFC South rivals, 13-6, in front of 60,018 on a sunny Sunday at TIAA Bank Field.

"It's just frustrating, obviously," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said.

Rookie running back Dameon Pierce's one-yard touchdown run with 3:11 remaining gave the Texans the lead by the final margin. It was the game's lone touchdown and the first score by either team in the second half.

The Jaguars have lost their last two games after back-to-back victories over Indianapolis and the Los Angeles Chargers in Weeks 2 and 3.

"You just go back to work," Head Coach Doug Pederson said. "We trust these guys with a lot and we ask a lot of them. You just keep working and you keep putting them in these situations. They're going to learn and we're all going to learn together. We'll be stronger and better for it."

Pierce's touchdown capped a 12-play, 74-yard drive that consumed 6:48 and was keyed by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Jaguars rookie outside linebacker Travon Walker. That penalty came when Walker jumped offside and hit Texans quarterback Davis Mills on 3rd-and-20 from the Texans 47.

The penalty gave the Texans a first down at the Jaguars 38, with Pierce's touchdown coming seven plays later. The Jaguars outgained the Texans, 422-248 and held a 329-169 advantage entering the fourth quarter.

The Jaguars drove to the 50 on the drive after Pierce's touchdown, but Lawrence threw incomplete four times. The Jaguars' last possession ended when defensive back Desmond King II intercepted a Hail Mary attempt by Lawrence on the game's final play.

"It was a rough day offensively," Lawrence said. "I had a few plays out there that I want back. I missed a few."

Lawrence completed 25 of 47 passes for 286 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions. He also threw a costly second-half end-zone interception that ended the opening drive of the second half.

"Obviously it was a bad decision," Lawrence said. "It put us in a bad spot. We didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had. We didn't play our style of football and didn't play well."

The Jaguars (2-3) have lost nine consecutive games to the Texans (1-3-1), a streak that dates to 2018. They are now 1-1 in the AFC South this season.

"They played well," Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk said. "They were the better team today. We could have done a lot better executing and putting ourselves in better positions to have an impact on the game."

Mills completed 16 of 24 passes for 140 yards and no touchdowns with no interceptions.

The Jaguars' defense on Sunday registered one sack – by linebacker Foye Oluokun – and no takeaways; they have registered at least one sack in every game this season and had at least one takeaway in every game this season until Sunday.

Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. rushed for 71 yards on 10 carries and caught three passes for 43 yards. Wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. caught seven passes for 104 yards.

"This one stings," Lawrence said. "Everybody feels it, as you should. It's a division game. It's a game where we felt confident and thought we had a good plan. We just didn't execute it. We've got to get better.

"We all just have to look in the mirror, hold ourselves accountable and get better."

Step by step:

• The Jaguars took a 3-0 lead with a 26-yard field goal by kicker Riley Patterson with 1:22 remaining in the first quarter; the Jaguars drove 60 yards on 11 plays, including a 20-yard pass from Lawrence to Etienne to move the Jaguars to the Texans 48.
• A 50-yard field goal by Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn tied it 3-3 with 12:24 remaining in the second quarter, with Fairbairn converting from 51 yards with 3:23 remaining in the quarter to give the Texans a 6-3 lead. Patterson's 45-yard field goal with :06 remaining in the second quarter made it 6-6 at halftime. The Jaguars held a total-yardage advantage at that point, 236-120.
• Neither team scored in the third quarter, with the Jaguar efficiently and impressively on a half-opening drive that covered 68 yards and ended when Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. intercepted Lawrence in the end zone on second-and-one from the Texans 7.
• Pierce's touchdown was the only scoring of the fourth quarter.

Notable:

• Jaguars defensive end Foley Fatukasi was among six inactive players for the Jaguars Sunday, having been ruled out Friday with a quad injury.
• Other Jaguars inactives were wide receiver Kendric Pryor; running back Snoop Conner; safety Tyree Gillespie, cornerback Montaric Brown and outside linebacker De'Shaan Dixon. Wide receiver Zay Jones (ankle), outside linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson (ankle) and guard Cole Van Lanen (hamstring) played for the Jaguars Sunday after being listed as questionable on Friday's final injury report of the week.

Injury report:

• Jaguars left guard Ben Bartch sustained a knee injury in the second quarter and did not return; he was replaced in the lineup by Tyler Shatley, who finished the game; Jaguars outside linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson sustained a knee injury in the second quarter and did not return.