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          Whitney Mercilus up, Lonnie Ballentine down in Texans 31-20 win over Jaguars

          Logan Bowles/USA TODAY Sports

          A look at Houston Texans players who were “up” and those who were “down” in Sunday’s 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars

          Up

          OLB Whitney Mercilus: The Texans had only six sacks this season, four of them by J.J. Watt, entering Sunday's game. Mercilus had two of his own on Sunday. Fellow outside linebacker John Simon joined in for another.

          S Andre Hal: The Texans badly needed turnovers and Hal produced two. One came at the goal line just as the Jaguars were about to score. The other was an interception he returned for a touchdown to put the Texans up an insurmountable 31-14.

          WR DeAndre Hopkins: Hopkins became the second Texans receiver to have back-to-back games with 10 or more catches. He also tied a franchise record with four consecutive games with at least 100 yards receiving.

          QB Brian Hoyer: Texans coach Bill O'Brien liked his confidence and calmness in Sunday's win. Hoyer completed 24 of 36 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns without any interceptions. His passer rating was 119.3.

          Down

          CB Kareem Jackson: The Texans have had three interceptions wiped out due to penalties this season. Jackson was the culprit this time, though he wiped out his own interception because he held the receiver. Jackson then suffered an ankle injury and wasn't able to return to the game.

          QB Ryan Mallett: This was the first game all season that Mallett did not throw a single pass. He entered the game for one play, handed the ball off, and then went back to the sideline to let Hoyer return to the game. That Hoyer played well doesn't help Mallett's hopes of returning to the starting role. Then again, there are still 10 games left.

          S Lonnie Ballentine: Hal credited Ballentine as contributing to his first interception, but the game couldn't have gone worse for Ballentine. He suffered an injury so bad his whole team left the sideline to console him. Afterward, Texans coach Bill O'Brien compared watching that injury to having seen Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and former Patriots receiver Wes Welker tear their anterior cruciate ligaments.