JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars looked nothing like a team with everything to play for against Houston.

Domanick Davis ran for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown and the Texans crippled Jacksonville’s postseason chances with a 21-0 victory Sunday.

The shutout was the first in team history for Houston and marked the first time the Jaguars have been blanked since a 44-0 drubbing at Detroit on Dec. 17, 1995.

This one could be far more costly than that loss to the Lions in Jacksonville’s inaugural season.

Because Baltimore lost at Pittsburgh, the Jaguars (8-7) could have taken control of the final AFC wild-card spot with a victory against Houston (7-8). Instead, they will need to win next week at Oakland and have the Ravens, Denver and maybe even Buffalo lose to return to the postseason for the first time since 1999.

The Jags have no one to blame but themselves – because they did little on offense and couldn’t stop Davis all afternoon.

Byron Leftwich struggled from the start in relatively cold weather; it was 40 degrees at kickoff and 10 degrees cooler with the wind chill. He fumbled late in the first quarter, picked up the loose ball and then took a shot to the head when sacked by Robaire Smith.

Leftwich missed a play, returned on the next series but wasn’t the same. He overthrew receivers, misfired on short passes and looked lost in the pocket at times. He was benched with 4:04 to play, replaced by David Garrard.

Leftwich finished 6-of-14 for 35 yards with an interception.

The Jags also were without their top offensive weapon. Running back Fred Taylor missed the game with a sprained left knee, ending his streak of consecutive starts at 46 games.

Without Taylor, the offense managed just 126 total yards.

The Texans, meanwhile, moved the ball with ease. They finished with 333 yards, much of it thanks to Davis. His previous career high was 129 yards, set last season against the New York Jets and tied last month against Tennessee. He also caught five passes for 39 yards.

It was the most yards rushing gained by one player against the Jags since Chicago’s Anthony Thomas had 160 in the 2001 season finale.

The Texans scored on the opening possession, a 65-yard drive highlighted by a perfect 19-yard pass from David Carr to Jabar Gaffney on third down and capped by Davis’ 1-yard scoring run.

Houston made it 14-0 in the second after Davis broke loose for a 44-yard gain and then Andre Johnson made a spinning 10-yard catch in the end zone.

The Texans added a defensive score with 3:11 to play. Antwan Peek picked up a fumble and returned it 66 yards for his first career touchdown.

Houston also overcame three muffed punt returns – they recovered two of them and the Jags missed a field goal on the other – and two interceptions by Carr.

The first half ended after Carr and Leftwich combined to throw three interceptions in the final six plays.

Corey Bradford tipped Carr’s pass across the middle, and Deon Grant picked it off with about a minute to play.

But Leftwich gave it back on the next play. Jason Babin hit Leftwich just as he released, and Kailee Wong intercepted the weakly thrown ball.

Three plays later, Carr had Johnson open down the left sideline but underthrew the pass, and Dewayne Washington picked it off.

AP-ES-12-26-04 1606EST