Matt Schaub needed to completely take over a game for the Houston Texans to have any chance of winning, to have any chance of avoiding a devastating loss that would have stung long after the embarrassment wore off. He needed to show why Gary Kubiak and his teammates are convinced he's one of the very best quarterbacks in the NFL.

No problem. Plenty of high drama.

Schaub threw for 527 yards and five touchdowns, rescuing a Texans defense that won so many games for the offense the last two seasons — again and again and again. He pulled the Texans back from the brink with a 17-point blitz, gave them a 37-34 lead after the first drive of overtime. And when Wade Phillips' Bulls On Parade couldn't hold that lead, letting the Jaguars drive right down the field for a tying field goal, Schaub did it again.

He ended it with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson with 2:01 left in overtime, pushing the Texans to the craziest victory over a 1-8 team you'll ever see. Texans 43, Jaguars 37.

Who's your quarterback?

"It's really will," Schaub said. "It's something to build on."

It's passing for the second most yards in an NFL game ever (Schaub tied Warren Moon with his 527 and is now behind only Norman Van Brocklin, who threw for 554 yards in 1951). It's completing 17 straight passes at one point and shaking off two interceptions that would have crushed a weaker quarterback.

It's . . . well, let tight Owen Daniels put it perspective.

"Crazy day man, crazy day," Daniels said. "We were just laughing about in the locker room. Everybody was . . . It's unbelievable. We had so many chances where we could have just given up and said, it's just not our day."

But Schaub wouldn't let them.

Johnson — who dialed up his own throwback machine with a 14-catch, 273-yard game of dominance — never had any doubts about Schaub. Now, a lot less people are going to have doubts about him too.

"I've been telling you guys that I've been feeling better and better every week," Johnson said. "Maybe now you guys will believe me."

Belief was the word of the day.

Down 34-20, staring a devastating defeat in the face, the Texans ripped for 14 points in the last 5:39 of the fourth quarter. They put together an 80-yard touchdown drive and a 90-yard touchdown drive. They had a chance to win it in regulation after a great over-the-shoulder completion to Johnson, but a false start penalty pushed it back to a 47-yard field goal and Shayne Graham wasn't close.

Still, the Texans kept moving. All on the right arm of Schaub.

The Texans quarterback went 8-for-8 for 85 yards on the 90-yard, game-tying touchdown drive. He simply refused to let Houston go down quietly.

Schaub would shrug off what looked like a crippling interception in overtime. He'd shrug off all the doom and gloom that seemed to be hanging over Reliant Stadium — and spilling out of the stands.

Help! Help!

It looked beyond bleak for the Texans for much of the second half.

Chad Henne waved his index finger in the air, the Houston Texans defense looked back in disbelief and everyone in the stands looked like they needed air. Yes, Chad Henne.

In a day straight out of their worst nightmares, the type of day that was supposed to be long past for this franchise, the Texans watched as the 1-8 Jacksonville Jaguars — arguably the worst team in the entire NFL — manhandled its feared defense.

Playing its backup quarterback. Featuring a rookie wideout who many in Florida wanted to bench.

Henne threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns. Justin Blackmon caught seven passes for 236 yards, averaging an insane 33.7 yards per catch. And still, the Texans found a way to win in the end. By Schaub.

An inexplicable loss to the Jaguars would have severely weakened the Texans' grip on the No. 1 seed in the AFC —and the crucial homefield advantage throughout the playoffs that comes with it. Baltimore (8-2 after a Sunday night win), New England (7-3) and Denver (7-3) all would have benefited greatly from the upset.

The Texans (9-1) would have felt much worse about losing this game in January. But they didn't. Thanks to No. 8. And No. 80. Now, they're flying high into a national Thanksgiving day showcase in Detroit.

What a turnaround it was.

Forced into the game when Texans safety Danieal Manning knocked Blaine Gabbert out with an elbow injury on the Jaguars first offensive series, Henne jogged on . . . and promptly started picking apart Houston's vaunted defense.

Former Division III wide receiver Cecil Shorts got free for a 67-yard touchdown reception.

Blackmon — the wildly inconsistent rookie receiver from Oklahoma State — absolutely torched Kareem Jackson, turning the Texans cornerback around again and again for big plays. It looked like Blackmon was playing against the Jackson of 2010.

And when Arian Foster fumbled inside his own 20-yard line, while futilely trying to rescue a third-and-17 play that was doomed from the time it was called, Houston suddenly faced real trouble.

The Jaguars turned that gift into a 27-17 lead as Henne hit tight end Mercedes Lewis on third-and-goal from the one-yard line for an easy touchdown throw off a play fake.

Rescue required. Where's Matt?