HOUSTON, Texas – This was tough, grinding November football with a postseason feel.

For the Jaguars, it couldn't have felt better.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence ran for a touchdown and passed for another as the Jaguars lost a halftime lead then regained it – and held it – with a gutty second half en route to a critical 24-21 AFC South victory over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium Sunday afternoon.

"This was a great road win for us to come in here and do what we did today," Head Coach Doug Pederson said, with Lawrence adding: "This was a huge division game.

Texans kicker Matt Ammendola's 58-yard field goal attempt bounced off the crossbar with :29 remaining, securing the Jaguars' seventh victory in eight games.

Lawrence said he watched Ammendola's kick, calling it "stressful."

"It was a huge game," Lawrence said. "We did a great job finding a way to win. That's a really good team. We anticipated it being a four-quarter game. Those types of games are important, because that's the way games get at the end of the year. You're going to get everbody's best every week.

"You have to be able to win those games even though it's not pretty. It takes a lot of perseverance to go finish those games."

Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus converted field goals of 40, 48 and 53 yards.

The victory gave the defending AFC South champion Jaguars (8-3) a two-game lead over Houston (6-5) in the division. The Texans had beaten the Jaguars, 37-17, in Jacksonville in Week 3.

Pederson called it "a great win for our team."

"You take every win and every loss humbly," Pederson said. "That's what we have to do. It puts us a few games up and that was our goal this week. Our guys battled for 60 minutes. We knew it was going to be a tough football game. It's a really good football team over there in Houston that plays tough, plays hard, and plays to the end.

"Our guys have learned how to learn how to finish. I'm really proud of our guys for the way they hung in there today."

The Jaguars took a 13-7 halftime lead before the Texans rallied for a one-point third-quarter lead – a lead the Jaguars negated on the next possession when Lawrence passed for a short touchdown to wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Lawrence followed that with a two-point pass to Ridley.

That gave the Jaguars a 21-14 lead late in the third quarter, a lead they extended on a drive that covered the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. That ended with a 53-yard field goal by McManus that made it 24-14, with 11:20 remaining.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud threw the second of his two touchdown passes to wide receiver Nico Collins with 5:15 remaining to cut the lead to three.

Lawrence completed 23 of 38 passes for 364 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Stroud completed 26 of 36 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

The Jaguars' defense registered four sacks Sunday with no takeaways and now have 20 takeaways and 24 sacks for the season. Defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris registered a first-quarter sack and outside linebacker Josh Allen registered two and a half in the second half – sharing one with outside linebacker Travon Walker late in the fourth quarter.

"We knew it was for first place," Walker said. "We wanted to come in and handle business. We gave them a lot last game. Now we know how to win. We have to start fast and finish fast. That's what we did today.

"We're always going to be here. We're always going to fight to the end."

The Jaguars took a 13-7 halftime lead before the Texans rallied for a one-point third-quarter lead – a lead the Jaguars negated on the next possession when Lawrence passed for a short touchdown to wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Lawrence followed that with a two-point pass to Ridley.

That gave the Jaguars a 21-14 lead late in the third quarter, a lead they extended on a drive that covered the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. That ended with a 53-yard field goal by McManus that made it 24-14, with 11:20 remaining.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud threw the second of his two touchdown passes to wide receiver Nico Collins with 5:15 remaining to cut the lead to three.

Lawrence completed 23 of 38 passes for 364 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Stroud completed 26 of 36 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

The Jaguars' defense registered four sacks Sunday with no takeaways and now have 20 takeaways and 24 sacks for the season. Defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris registered a first-quarter sack and outside linebacker Josh Allen registered two and a half in the second half – sharing one with outside linebacker Travon Walker late in the fourth quarter.

"We knew it was for first place," Walker said. "We wanted to come in and handle business. We gave them a lot last game. Now we know how to win. We have to start fast and finish fast. That's what we did today.

"We're always going to be here. We're always going to fight to the end."

Step by Step:

• McManus' 40-yard field goal capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive on the Jaguars' first possession; Lawrence converted two third downs with passes to wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones on the drive.
• Lawrence's one-yard run pushed the Jaguars' lead to 10-0 with 9:43 remaining in the second quarter; the run came after Lawrence's 42-yard screen pass to running back D'Ernest Johnson gave the Jaguars first-and-goal at the Texans eight. The Texans cut the lead to 10-7 when wide receiver Tank Dell capped the next drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Stroud with 6:37 remaining in the half. McManus' 48-yard field goal on the ensuing series pushed the lead to 13-7 with 2:24 remaining in the half. The Jaguars missed a chance to extend the lead when running back Travis Etienne Jr. was stopped for no gain on first-and-goal from the one on the half's final play one play after Lawrence passed 57 yards to Kirk on third-and-eight from the Jaguars 42.
• Stroud's one-yard run capped a 46-yard drive on the Texans' first possession of the second half for a 14-13 Houston lead with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter; cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. intercepted Lawrence on the Jaguars' first possession at the Jaguars 46 to set up the go-ahead drive. Ridley caught a one-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence 4:29 remaining in the third quarter to cap the drive after the Texans took the lead. Lawrence found Ridley on the same play for a two-point conversion that gave the Jaguars a 21-14 lead.
• McManus' 53-yard field goal capped the first drive of the fourth quarter for a double-digit Jaguars lead.

Notable:

• Defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton and cornerback Tyson Campbell were among the Jaguars' five game-day inactives. Hamilton missed the first seven games of the season with a back issue; Campbell missed two games with a hamstring injury before reinjuring it in his Week 10 return against San Francisco. Zay Jones (knee) and Roberston-Harris (ankle) played Sunday after playing through the injuries in a victory over the Tennessee Titans Sunday. The Jaguars' other three inactive players for Sunday: guard Cole Van Lanen, rookie wide receiver Elijah Cooks and rookie outside linebacker Yasir Abdullah.

Injury report:

• Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson sustained a first-quarter knee injury and did not return, with Walker Little moving from left guard to left tackle in his absence and Ezra Cleveland playing left guard.
• Etienne sustained a chest injury in the second quarter and returned.