Sports · NEWS EXPLAINER
Fairbairn's walk-off field goal lifts Texans over Jaguars 34–31 in London
C.J. Stroud threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns before Houston answered a 60-yard tying kick with a seven-play final drive at Wembley.
Ka'imi Fairbairn made a 49-yard field goal as time expired to give the Houston Texans a 34–31 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 18. Houston improved to 2–4 and Jacksonville fell to 4–2.
C.J. Stroud completed 24 of 34 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Trevor Lawrence went 24 of 41 for 306 yards and four scores, but the Jaguars' three-game winning streak ended after the final exchange of long kicks.
Houston carried a 17–14 lead into halftime
Stroud opened the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Foster Moreau. Lawrence answered with two touchdowns to Bhayshul Tuten, but a 50-yard Stroud completion to Jaylin Noel set up Moreau's second touchdown catch with eight seconds left in the half.
Noel caught a 13-yard touchdown on Houston's first drive after halftime and finished with a career-high 107 receiving yards. Jacksonville kept responding, first through rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher and later through Hunter.
Hunter's two-way play kept Jacksonville alive
After catching a 7-yard touchdown, Hunter intercepted Stroud in the end zone with Houston leading 31–28. Reuters reports that he became the first player since Brian Dawkins in 2002 to record a touchdown catch and an interception in the same game.
The takeaway denied Houston a clinching score. Jacksonville then reached range for Little's 60-yard field goal, which tied the game at 31–31 with 1:55 remaining.
The final seven-play drive settled the game
Stroud found Woody Marks for 19 yards to cross midfield on the last possession. The Texans' official report says the drive covered 36 yards in seven plays before Fairbairn made the 49-yard kick as the clock reached zero.
Fairbairn was 2-for-2 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra points. The official report also says he has made 51 consecutive attempts from inside 50 yards, while Reuters confirms that the last kick was exactly 49 yards.
What the result changes
Houston is 2–4 after a second consecutive win, and Jacksonville is 4–2 after its three-game winning streak ended. The Texans also moved to 2–0 against the Jaguars in London.
Those completed records and the 34–31 score are confirmed. The game does not establish future playoff position, guarantee another comeback or turn a rare two-way performance into a trend.
