JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars defensive players were confident the 17-10 lead would stand up against the Houston Texans with less than two minutes remaining.
Not a bit of doubt despite losing 12 of the last 14 meetings (and seven in a row at home) against the Texans and failing to hold a late-game lead to the Cincinnati Bengals the week before.
"No matter the situation, they weren't going to score," defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said. "That was our mentality: They're not scoring.
"They can drive the field, whatever they want to do, they're not scoring."
He was correct, because the defense did what it does better than any other team in the NFL over the first three weeks of the season: Force a turnover. Hines-Allen got his hand on a C.J. Stroud pass and safety Antonio Johnson made a diving catch with 20 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
That was the Jaguars' league-leading ninth takeaway, which equaled the team's total last season. This year's revamped unit with first-year coordinator Anthony Campanile needed only nine quarters to surpass what last year's defense did in 17 games, because one of the Jaguars' league-low nine turnovers in 2024 came on special teams.
While the offense and quarterback Trevor Lawrence try to find consistency in coach Liam Coen's new system, it seems the defense has settled on its identity.
"That's our calling card: To go out there and take the ball away," said cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who had his second interception against the Texans. "We've been talking about that since OTAs . We just want to go out there and force turnovers and make it a bad day for the offense and those quarterbacks that we're facing.
"... Camp (Campanile) talks about getting the ball back every single day. When you think like that, it's manifested like that."
The Jaguars have intercepted seven passes -- one more than they had in 2024 -- and forced two fumbles this season. Their go-ahead touchdown on Sunday was set up by a turnover: Cornerback Tyson Campbell punched the ball away from receiver Nico Collins and linebacker Devin Lloyd recovered at the Jaguars' 17-yard line with 3:47 to play.
"Our defense, can't say enough about how they just kept fighting and had our back," said Lawrence, who completed 20 of 40 passes for 222 yards with an interception and was victimized by six drops.
"The turnovers, the big stops. We put them in some bad positions and they just kept making stops and kept playing. They never looked at us [the offense] and were like, 'What are you doing?' when they easily could have. We were playing pretty bad there the middle stretch of the game, so hats off to them."
Hines-Allen had one of the best games of his career against the Texans. Despite recording only a half sack -- which leaves him two shy of breaking Tony Brackens' franchise record (55) -- he tied his career high with seven pressures and had three QB hits, plus the game-winning pass breakup.
"It hasn't quite shown in every stat book, but his presence, what he does in terms of affecting the game both in the run game and the pass has been really, really something that's helped us out to get other people to be able to get pressures," Coen said. "The way Josh practices, the way that he is in the meeting setting, the way that he lifts. The way that he does everything is really what we're trying to continue to do as a program, and really proud and happy for that defense, especially for Josh."
Hines-Allen was emotional in the locker room after the game, partly because he had never beaten the Texans in Jacksonville but also because he believes things are starting to turn after the disappointment of the last season-and-a-half, and what happened Sunday was proof.
"It's so hard to win in the National Football League," Hines-Allen said. "The mentality I have been wanting to come into this week was that we got to take it. Last week we let that slip away, and we didn't take it, and here was another opportunity for us to go get it, and so for us to go out there and prove who we are, the type of team we do have.
"We're building something very special here. We got to keep capitalizing off that. Yes, I was very emotional. Huge win against a good team, nevertheless, but it's just a great building point to how far can we go."