The end came so suddenly, so out-of-nowhere, so inexplicably crazy that even if you saw it live — even if you lived it on the field — you had to watch it again on replay, just to be sure it really happened. And then, maybe watch it again, for complete confirmation.

A 50-yard Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game to steal victory and set up shocking misery? A ball batted right into the waiting arms of the opponent for a game-losing touchdown? Jacksonville 31, Houston 24?

It all happened and the Texans nightmare of a playoff scenario is very real.

Move over Kordell Stewart. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard pulled off an NFL play that belongs right up there with Stewart's no-way, did-you-see-it, I-couldn't-have-just-seen-that 64-yard, scrambling Hail Mary pass that stunned Michigan in 1994 — in one of the most famous football games of the last 30 years.

What Garrard did wasn't quite Kordell-esque. He didn't have nearly as much pressure on him as Stewart did on his play (Garrard was playing against the Texans' D after all) and the ball didn't have to travel as far in the air. But try telling any of this to the Texans and you'll likely only get stunned, sad stares.

Garrard's 50-yard touchdown pass is still an ultimate masterpiece for the Jaguars (5-4) and a dire disaster for the .... last-place Houston Texans (4-5).

When Garrard uncorked his throw and Texans defensive back Glover Quin tried to bat the football down (did exactly what every football player is taught to do in that situation) and the ball landed in Jaguars receiver Mike Thomas' hands for a walk-in touchdown instead, everything changed in the AFC South. Houston — a team that looked like it had finally woken up and reestablished itself after rallying from a 17-3 halftime deficit — is suddenly all but done. Jacksonville — a team that nearly every NFL prognosticator in America pegged for last in the division going into this season — is suddenly magical.

CBS' usually way-over-excited Gus Johnson was anything but wayward this time when he pegged Garrard's bomb to victory, "Maybe, the play of the year in the NFL."

"Don't put it all on that last play," Texans coach Gary Kubiak insisted.

It's hard to even imagine a more devastating way to lose. The Jaguars were reeling, having blown that big lead, having watching their kicker Josh Scobee miss two field goals, including a complete shank of a go-ahead, 43-yard-attempt with 1:34 left. The Texans had everything going their way, with all-pro wideout Andre Johnson (nine catches for 146 yards) dominating a game for the first time in more than month, with receiver Kevin Walter (six catches for 90 yards) finally no longer MIA, with the defense having actually shut out a team for a whole quarter (the third).

When Texans tight end Joel Dreessen fumbled a pass and the Jaguars recovered with only eight seconds left in regulation, it looked like nothing more than a minor hiccup. After all, overtime beckoned.

But then Garrard stepped back and ... it suddenly didn't. The game was over. And so was the guarantee.

Remember this was the game that Texans owner Bob McNair vowed that his team would "kick ass" in. Instead, it's coach Gary Kubiak and company who are staggering.

The Texans, once 4-2 and the toast of the national NFL media, now trail every team in the AFC South — the Colts (6-3), Titans (5-4) and Jaguars (5-4) — and six teams in the race for the two wildcard playoff spots in the AFC. Houston would have to pass five of these six teams — New England (6-2), Baltimore (6-3), Miami (5-4), Oakland (5-4), Tennessee and Jacksonville — to steal a wildcard berth.

Playoffs? Now, that's an absurd Hail Mary thought.