Jacksonville Jaguars

Jags don't mess with Texans

Updated Aug. 12, 2022 4:56 p.m. ET

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By CHRIS DUNCAN
AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) -- Texans owner Bob McNair will meet with coach Gary Kubiak on Monday to assess what went wrong this season.

On Sunday, the spotlight belonged to Arian Foster.

The undrafted free agent ran for 180 yards to win the NFL rushing title, and Houston ended Jacksonville's slim playoff hopes in a 34-17 win over the Jaguars.

Foster finished with 1,616 yards rushing, the highest single-season total for an undrafted player. He also had 604 yards receiving to become the sixth player in league history to reach 1,500 yards rushing and 600 yards receiving in the same year.

"In this lifetime, sometimes things don't go your way and you can take two roads," Foster said. "You can fold and quit or you can follow your heart and do what you know how to do. And that's what I did."

But Foster lamented that his numbers never translated to victories, mostly because Houston's defense was so bad. The Texans (6-10) matched their worst record since 2006, Kubiak's first season.

Outraged fans have been bombarding local sports radio talk shows for weeks, calling for Kubiak to be fired. Kubiak shot down a media report that he was coming back and McNair had signed off on any personnel decisions.

"That's not true," he said. "I had a couple of talks with him (McNair) this week. But the bottom line, I asked him the last time I talked to him, was to let me enjoy the week. Let me coach. Let me coach this game.

"So he's been fair to me and we'll make that decision (Monday)."

McNair was not made available for comment.

The Jaguars (8-8) may have some decisions to make, too. They needed a victory and a Colts loss to Tennessee to make playoffs, but couldn't overcome the absence of their top two offensive players.

Trent Edwards started at quarterback for David Garrard, who underwent finger surgery Thursday, and Rashad Jennings rushed for 108 yards in place of Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who sat out with a right knee injury that will require surgery this week.

The Colts wound up winning minutes after the Jaguars' game ended.

"There are no excuses for it," cornerback Rashean Mathis said. "As a group, collectively, we dropped the ball. To drop three straight, it's very disappointing."

The stumbling finish raised speculation about the future of coach Jack Del Rio, who's 20-28 over the past three seasons. Del Rio brushed aside a question about his job status.

"I am only concerned about that continuing to be a lead idea for your stories," he told a group of reporters. "Other than that, I'm OK."

Matt Schaub completed 18 of 22 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown. He's thrown for 9,170 yards over the past two seasons, becoming the sixth quarterback to reach 9,000 yards passing in a two-year span.

But the star of Houston's season was Foster, who burst onto the scene when he ran for 231 yards in the opener against Indianapolis and racked up eight 100-yard games.

Foster talked all season about playing with a purpose and showing up skeptics who passed on him in the 2009 draft. He feels like he has more to prove next year.

"I guess that gives me a reason to work in the offseason," he said. "But I feel like you're never perfect as a player or a person because you're always working towards it. So I guess I've got to set some new goals."

Foster took the suspense out of the race for the rushing title on his first carry, a 56-yard burst on Houston's third snap. Foster came into the game trailing Kansas City's Jamaal Charles by 32 yards and leading Tennessee's Chris Johnson by 111.

Foster finished the opening drive with the first of two touchdown runs.

Foster embraced Kubiak when he walked off the field after his final carry with 1:54 left. He hugged Schaub and most of the starting offensive linemen as the final minute ticked off the clock.

"It's always nice to know that the people around you and the people who have been playing this game and been in this business for 20-plus years, they respect your game and they respect what you're doing," he said. "It's a good feeling. I wish we could have got some Ws to go along with it."

NOTES: Foster scored 108 points to become the first Texans non-kicker to score more than 100 points in a season. ... Texans LB Zac Diles left the game in the first half with a concussion. ... The Texans scored over 30 points for the fifth time this season, a team record. ... Jaguars FB Montell Owens tied a franchise record with his 95th tackle on special teams. ... Jacksonville has lost its last five regular-season finales.

Updated January 2, 2011

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