Houston’s Steve Slaton rushes for a touchdown as Jacksonville’s Brian Williams chases him during the fourth quarter Monday. Associated Press Photo.

HOUSTON — Mario Williams made the most of the spotlight.

Williams had a season-high three sacks and forced a fumble and rookie Steve Slaton had two touchdown runs to lead the Texans to a 30-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Houston’s first ever Monday night game.

Andre Johnson added a TD reception and Kris Brown kicked three field goals in the Texans’ second straight win.

The top overall pick in the 2006 draft, Williams said he came out with extra incentive — a chance to show a national television audience what he and the Texans could do.

Williams brought down quarterback David Garrard in the second, third and fourth quarters, and forced a fumble by Garrard on his final sack.

“I know a lot of people from the East Coast. They’re like, ‘Who did y’all play? When did y’all play?’ They don’t even know what’s going on over here, good or bad,” said Williams, who has 11 sacks this season. “For us to finally get a showcase, it’s big for us.”

Williams played well in his only other night game, making 31⁄2 sacks in a Thursday night matchup against Denver last season. The rest of the defense followed Williams’ lead, holding the Jaguars to 218 yards and a field goal through three quarters.

“The scene was set, there was a lot of intensity,” said Williams.

Slaton had both touchdown runs in the fourth quarter and finished with 130 yards on 21 carries. He had only nine carries in the first half and told Coach Gary Kubiak at halftime that he could handle more.

“I wanted to let him know that if he needed someone to count on, it was me,” Slaton said.

Slaton ranks third among rookies with 904 rushing yards this season. The Texans (5-7) are impressed the third-round draft pick has blossomed into such a durable runner.

“He’s become a great every-down back,” said quarterback Sage Rosenfels. “He hits the hole quick and he’s got great balance. He has been a gem for this team.”

Jacksonville (4-8), a playoff team last season, lost its fifth in six games with another lackluster performance. The Jaguars had three turnovers and missed a field goal and Garrard fell to the grass twice without being touched by Houston’s defense.

Down by 13 and facing fourth-and-2, Garrard found Matt Jones on a 27-yard pass that got Jacksonville down to the 6 early in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars managed just 1 yard in the next three plays and went for it again on fourth down.

This time Garrard’s feet got tangled with a teammate and he crashed to the ground. He got up and flipped the ball toward the end zone as he was hit, but the pass was broken up by Fred Bennett.

“We have to find a way to get out of this little sandtrap that we’re in,” said running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who was held to 49 yards on 12 carries.

The Jaguars’ only TDs came in the last 3 minutes with the game out of reach. Fred Taylor went in from the 4 to cut it to 23-10 and Reggie Williams scored on an 18-yard reception from Garrard with 45 seconds left.

Slaton had a nifty 46-yard catch and run in the third quarter that got Houston down to the 1. Slaton failed to score on three straight runs and Houston settled for a 20-yard field goal by Brown that made it 16-3.

Brown kicked his longest field goal of the season when he converted a 50-yarder to make it 13-0 in the third.

Williams got his ninth sack of the season and first in almost a month when he took down Garrard on third-and-5 to force a punt late in the second. The second one came in the third when the QB tripped on one of his lineman and got back up to try to get a pass off. Williams yanked him down before he could get rid of the ball.

“We finally get a chance for the whole world to see us,” Williams said, “so you’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Slaton gained 26 yards on three runs before Rosenfels hit Johnson for a TD with 12:04 left in the first. With the catch, Johnson set Texans records for career touchdowns (29) and points scored by a non-kicker (174).

Rosenfels and Garrard threw interceptions on consecutive plays with just under 10 minutes left in the quarter. Rashean Mathis picked off Rosenfels and returned it to the Texans’ 44 and Jacques Reeves got it right back for Houston on a pass intended for Jerry Porter.

Rosenfels has thrown 10 interceptions this season, but that was the Texans’ only turnover of the game. They’ve won nine straight games in which they’ve won the turnover margin.