‘I bet y’all miss me': Former Jaguars' CB Shaq Griffin steps up to help Texans win

Shaq Griffin levied a big hit near the Jacksonville Jaguars’ sideline on Calvin Ridley and lingered a bit, exchanging pleasantries with his former team.

Later, he flew in for a pass breakup near the same sideline, this time pausing after the play to send a cutting stare toward Jacksonville’s coaching staff.

The veteran cornerback spent his final days as a member of the Jaguars on the injured reserve list, isolated as a lingering back injury and subsequent surgery kept him off the field for the final 13 games of the season last year.

Houston, there's a problem: Jaguars look lifeless in 37-17 loss to Houston Texans. Here are our takeaways.

It was personal for him as the Houston Texans (1-2, 1-1 AFC South) defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2, 1-1 AFC South) 37-17 at EverBank Stadium on Sunday.

"I got released by that team during my surgery. So, it got very personal," Griffin said from the visiting locker room after the game. He was released by the Jaguars in March to clear cap space. "You try to give so much to somebody. Even in that year when I was playing with them, playing through those injuries and stuff, I gave everything I had to it.

"To leave through that, to go through them dark times, to get back from the back surgery, to be able to play football again at full speed. I had to do that by myself. So yeah, very personal."

With a midweek injury to starting cornerback Derek Stingley forcing him to miss the game, Griffin was given the opportunity to be the primary defender on Calvin Ridley for most of the day.He stepped up largely for the visitors, holding Ridley to three catches for 40 yards on seven targets and preventing a breakout game for the star receiver.

One of his best plays was when he stayed put on a double move by Ridley on the boundary, forcing Trevor Lawrence to tuck the ball and scramble for a short gain. It doesn't show up in the stat book, but it's the type of impact he's hoping to have in his new role with the Texans.

"When I got here I started to create some opportunity [in Jacksonville]. Start my family here," Griffin said. "So yeah, everything was personal. In my head, I'm walking around saying, '[Shoot], they took everything from me. I had my crib here, kids here. We had to move, so yeah, it got very personal. I needed that one.”

When asked what Griffin was saying to the sideline during the game, he briefly paused before revealing a sly smile.

"I said, ‘I bet y’all miss me,'" he said with a chuckle. "Some of it was talking trash, some of it was all love. Just had my fun little fun with it.”

Stroud impresses in first appearance against the Jaguars

C.J. Stroud doesn’t play like he’s only had three starts in the NFL. Through his first three games he's passed for 906 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, a historic mark for a first-year quarterback.

He diced Jacksonville’s secondary for 20 of 30 completions and 280 yards with two touchdowns on Sunday — highlighted by a 68-yard strike in the fourth quarter to Tank Dell to put the game out of reach.

It was a continuation and maybe even an advancement of his strong start to his career.

"It's the hardest thing I'm learning about this football game, since I've been little: The great ones do it every week. If they don't do it that week, they never have two bad weeks," he said.

Dell was his favorite target as he found his fellow rookie five times for 145 yards in the win. It marks the most passing yards the Jaguars have allowed to a single receiver this season.

"I was super, super happy for Tank, being back at home. I know he had a lot of people here and he balled out, man," Stroud said about the Daytona native Dell. It was his first start in his home state as a pro.

"That was our first time taking a shot and first time hitting it," he continued. "I think it just shows the connection me and him actually have. We put in a lot of extra work and it's good to see it pay off. Now it's time to go do it again and be consistent with it."

Ryans picks up first division win in AFC South

DeMeco Ryans picked up his first victory as a head coach and it was a division win against a former coach of his.

Head coach Doug Pederson overlapped with the Ryans while on the Eagles staff as the latter was still in his playing days.

After the game, the first-year head coach let off a big smile when asked what the first victory meant to him.

"It's special. To get the first win is definitely special," he said. "I've been thinking about it for a long time. Since we started, you know, how would that first win be?

"It's a lot of work and I never lose sight of the grind and the work that it takes to win a game. But I'm so proud of our guys and happy for the work they put in to help us win this game. It's a credit to everybody and it was truly a team effort."

With the win, Houston moves to .500 in the division with a home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers next week.

The Jaguars will travel to London to face the Atlanta Falcons and remain there for their following matchup against the Buffalo Bills. The next home game at EverBank Stadium will be against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 15.

Juston Lewis is a sports reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on the website formerly known as Twitter at @JustonLewis_.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars versus Houston Texans: Shaq Griffin comes up big