Houston Texans win 31-25 over average Denver Broncos - NFL Recap
The Denver Broncos lost their second straight game on Sunday, September 23, 2012 as the Houston Texans held off their late fourth quarter comeback bid with a 31-25 victory.
A complete performance in offence plus a brilliant display at defence helped the Texans go 3-0 for the first time since the franchise came into existence in 2002.
Quarterback Matt Schaub delivered a brilliant display throwing four touchdowns and passing for 290 yards to lead the Texans to a massive victory taking advantage of a surprisingly average display in defence by the Broncos.
Schaub was massive for the Texans who built up a 31-11 lead over their opponents at the end of the third quarter, helped in part by running back Arian Foster who gained 105 yards from 25 carries during the game while he also scored a receiving touchdown
from three yards in the second quarter.
The victory will boost the confidence of Houston sky high as they finally overcame a team led by Peyton Manning who has been their bane for much of his career.
Texans coach Gary Kubiak in his post match interview said:
"We knew that we had to try to get the ball downfield because they had a lot of people committed to the run. We did what we had to do to win, convinced them that we had to make some big plays and they did."
Schaub lost a piece of his ear during the game after taking a crunching tackle in the third quarter but that did not stop him.
Speaking after the game about the hit he said:
"I felt fine. I just lost a piece of my ear. I was bleeding and my helmet came off. So, I had to come out for a play, but I was fine."
Manning on the other hand fared much better this time than in his previous games against Atlanta Falcons.
The veteran quarterback did not throw any interceptions this time passing for two touchdowns and 330 yards making a new record for most 300-yard passing games in a career.
However, his efforts came too little too late for the Broncos who were already down 31-11 at the start of the fourth quarter when Manning got into gear.
His two touchdowns all came in the fourth quarter bringing the Broncos to within six points of Houston but the Texans defence held on for a massive victory.
Speaking after the game the 36-year-old said:
"We have to learn from this game, address it, be honest, everybody needs to be accountable and try to improve forward. It's not the ideal situation. Everybody would love to be 3-0. That's not the way it is right now."
The Broncos are now down 1-2 and will have to fix the problems in defence if they wish to end their losing streak and return to winning ways.
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