Beck’s rare TD return propels Texans to a 37-17 rout of Jaguars and gives Ryans his first win

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Fullback Andrew Beck fumbled a kickoff and then broke five tackles during an 85-yard return for a touchdown — one of several special teams gaffes by Jacksonville — and the Houston Texans stunned the Jaguars 37-17 Sunday to give coach DeMeco Ryans his first victory.

Rookie C.J. Stroud threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns, including a 68-yarder to Tank Dell that sealed it, and the Texans won their fifth in a row in Jacksonville.

Houston (1-2) now has won 16 of the past 19, including 10 of 11, in the series.

As lopsided as the AFC South rivalry has been recently, Jacksonville’s performance as 7 1/2-point favorites at home might have been even more staggering.

The Jaguars (1-2) were flat from the start and struggled to get anything going. Their first five drives ended in a missed field goal, a punt, a blocked field goal, a punt and a fumble.

Trailing 17-0 at halftime, they scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter to get back in the game. But then they botched the kickoff about as badly as anyone could imagine.

Beck bobbled the ball at the 10, picked it up at the 14 and managed to elude all 11 defenders on his way to one of the rarest touchdowns in NFL history. Caleb Johnson, Tre Herndon, Jacob Harris, Daniel Thomas, Brandon McManus and D’Ernest Johnson also had shots at tackling Beck. None of them got him to the ground.

Beck, a 255-pound blocker from nearby Tampa, became the first fullback to return a kickoff for a touchdown since Jacksonville’s Derrick Wimbush accomplished the feat in 2005. Wimbush returned one 91 yards for a score in a 24-17 victory at Arizona in Week 12.

It was the most memorable play in what could go down as a monumental game for the…