Texans win AFC South title with victory over Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bradley Roby returned one of Jameis Winston’s four interceptions for a touchdown and Ka’imi Fairburn snapped a fourth-quarter tie with his third field goal Saturday, lifting the Houston Texans to a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their fourth AFC South title in five years.

Roby raced 27 yards up the right sideline after picking off Winston’s first pass of the game, the sixth pick-6 the Bucs quarterback has thrown this season. Jahleel Addae’s interception with 1:27 remaining, ended any realistic chance the Bucs had of fully overcoming Winston’s mistakes.

The Texans (10-5) won despite not getting an especially sharp performance from Deshaun Watson, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 184 yards and one interception. The Bucs (7-8) sacked him five times and held Houston to one offensive TD on Carlos Hyde’s 1-yard run in the second quarter.

The Texans ended Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak and are AFC South champions for the second straight year. They join the Patriots and Chiefs as the only teams with four division titles since 2015.

A week after becoming the first player in NFL history to throw for more than 450 yards in consecutive games, Winston was 25 of 48 for 335 yards and one touchdown. He tossed an interception on Tampa Bay’s opening drive for the fifth time in seven games, and nearly watched Houston go up 14-0 when Justin Reid intercepted him on the Bucs’ next possession.

Instead, the Texans settled for a field goal after a penalty for a blindside block negated what also would have been a 27-yard return for a TD. Hyde’s TD, set up by Peyton Barber’s fumble, put the Texans up 17-3.

A resilient Winston rallied the Bucs with a pair of touchdowns in the last two minutes of the opening half to make it 17-17. The teams traded third-quarter field goals, setting the stage for Watson to move the Texans into position for the go-ahead points, Fairburn’s 37-yard field goal with 7:11 remaining.

INJURIES:

Texans: Hyde (ankle) and wide receiver Will Fuller (hamstring) were active after being listed as questionable on the injury report. Fuller left in the second quarter with a groin injury and did not return, finishing with two catches for 11 yards.

Buccaneers: In addition to playing without Chris Godwin (hamstring), Winston was without wide receivers Mike Evans and Scotty Miller, who were placed on injured reserve earlier in the week.

UP NEXT

Texans: Home vs. Tennessee next Sunday.

Buccaneers: Close season at home against NFC South rival Atlanta on Sunday.