Now that the dust has settled after the Houston Texans fended off the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, attention can now be turned to some of the immediate storylines that now exist after Sunday's contest.
As always, games like this feature several winners and losers from around the team, some in small fashion and others to a catastrophic degree. In this case, we have way more winners than we have losers, but those on the short end of the stick still have some potential long-term ramifications to face as a result of this weekend's developments.
With that said, here are the nine winners and six losers from Houston's 34-31 victory over Jacksonville from Wembley Stadium.
Winners
C.J. Stroud
C.J. Stroud continued his rampage against secondaries in week six, accomplishing yet another 300-yard, multi-touchdown performance in his fourth season. Even though Stroud was finally picked off by an opposing defender (Travis Hunter), he still had an electric performance that helped power Houston to its second win of the season.
If the Texans were 4-2 instead of 2-4, I believe that Stroud would firmly be in the MVP discussion with the likes of fellow quarterbacks in Josh Allen, Brock Purdy and Joe Burrow. Through six games, Stroud sits only behind Matthew Stafford for the most passing yards in the NFL with 1,714.
Ka'imi Fairbairn
Houston's all-time leading scorer added to his resume on Sunday morning against Jacksonville, nailing a walk-off 49-yarder to give his team the 34-31 victory at the buzzer. Ka'imi Fairbairn continues to earn his money as a stalwart for the franchise.
Jaylin Noel
Jaylin Noel had another career-day against the Jaguars on Sunday, which was a continuation of a career-best season in 2026. In London, Noel went off for 107 receiving yards and one touchdown, with the 100-yard receiving mark being the first of his two-year career. Through only six games, he's already either eclipsed his rookie marks or has broken even, which puts him on pace to dwarf his debut season.
Noel faced the challenge of becoming a more complete receiver in order to crack Houston's offensive rotation, and the former Iowa State burner has started to deliver on that.
Marvin Harrison Jr.
Marvin Harrison Jr. entered week six with a combined five catches (13 targets) for 85 yards and one touchdown with the Arizona Cardinals. In a handful of snaps against Jacksonville, he debuted with a three-catch, 34-yard performance that was vital to Houston's success at keeping the offense on the field.
With more time in the system, don't be surprised to see Harrison really break through and become a potential fixture in the Texans's passing attack for the foreseeable future (especially if C.J. Stroud has anything to say about it).
Woody Marks/Jawhar Jordan
Without the combined efforts of running backs Woody Marks and Jawhar Jordan, the Texans probably don't win yesterday's game against the Jaguars. The two added a much-needed second dimension to the offense, contributing a combined 99 yards (on 21 carries, 4.7 YPC) and one touchdown to swing the contest, which included Jordan carving up Jacksonville's defense in the third quarter with a 25-yard cutback scamper that gave Houston a game-shifting touchdown when they needed it.
Nico Collins
Even though Nico Collins didn't score a touchdown on the day, he was effective (once again) as a chunk-play producer and gadget-run option. He also was able to sit back and witness a passing attack that didn't need to overly depend on him to be the sole impact playmaker, as Jaylin Noel, Marvin Harrison and others shouldered more than their fair share of the workload.
Calen Bullock
Calen Bullock finally got his hands of his first interception of the season on Sunday against the Jaguars. It came on Jacksonville's first offensive drive of the second quarter, as Bullock turned away Lawrence and co. with an end zone interception. While it didn't lead to immediate points for his offense, it still ended the Jaguars' threat to get seven in that moment.
Nick Caley
Offensive coordinator Nick Caley deserves much credit for making the adjustments necessary to turn the offense around after sputtering to start the 2026 season. Shifting away from trying to force a power-run scheme, Caley has now called for more dependence on Stroud and his bevy of receivers to shoulder the load of the offense as they try to figure the rushing component out.
As a result, Houston just completed their third outing of 30-plus points in six games, which is amazing considering how this same coordinator led a unit that didn't sniff even 20 points until week four of last season (against the Tennessee Titans, 26-0 win). As of this morning, Houston has a top-10 offense in yards per game (355.0), and a top-15 unit in points per game (tied for 14th with 24.0).
Losers
Texans' pass rush
It was a rough day at the office for Houston's pass rushing unit on Sunday morning against the Jaguars, as the collective failed to record a single sack of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for the contest. It snapped the Texans' 25-game streak in which the defense recorded at least 1.0 sack, which was a franchise record that dated back to Dec. 15, 2024.
Reed Blankenship
A pretty rocky start for the former Philadelphia Eagles safety got even worse in the second quarter against Jacksonville, as Reed Blankenship was knocked out of the game due to a concussion. Not only was he lost for the game, but there's a chance that he won't clear concussion protocol in time for this week's match up against the New York Giants. Additionally, if another option comes in (like M.J. Stewart) during his absence and excels in coverage where Blankenship continuously fell short, it could lead to a potential change in rep-count for the $24.75 million-man.
Kamari Lassiter/M.J. Stewart
The combination of defensive backs Kamari Lassiter and M.J. Stewart had a not-so-great day in coverage against Lawrence and co. in coverage. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the two combined to allow 63 receiving yards and three passing touchdowns, which included an average passer rating of 114.05.
It was a continuation of the theme of poor secondary play for Houston in the sixth game of the campaign.
David Montgomery
Even though David Montgomery didn't play, I believe that he still suffered a bit in terms of positional security, seeing as though we all saw how his backfield mates in Woody Marks and Jawhar Jordan combined to have the most productive rushing outing of the season against the league's best run-stopping unit in the Jaguars.
The duo's 99 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries (4.7 YPC) help fuel Houston's win, especially with the addition of Jordan's vision and cutback ability being added to the equation. While no move may be imminent, another dominant outing from the aforementioned pair could lead to the Texans perhaps considering other alternatives for the newly-acquired Montgomery.
Marlin Klein
Sunday marked a third consecutive healthy DNP for the second-rounder out of Michigan in tight end Marlin Klein. Making matters worse was the fact that Jacksonville's rookie tight end in Nate Boerkircher scored on a one-handed touchdown grab in the ball game, showing that it is indeed possible to feature a rookie at that position who can have a major impact on offense.
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