Texans outlast Redskins in shootout
The Houston Texans won their first ever overtime game in a come-from-behind effort in Washington on Sunday. In a game where the quarterbacks combined for almost 1000 yards passing, the Texans made the plays late in regulation to give themselves a chance
to win in overtime.
The play of the game from a Texans' standpoint came with 2:07 left in regulation. Facing a fourth-and-10, Texans quarterback Matt Shaub put the ball up, and Andre Johnson brought it down to tie the game at 27.
That was just one of many times that Shaub put it up for Andre to bring it down. The duo hooked up 12 times for 158 yards and a score to the delight fantasy owners everywhere.
Shaub wasn't playing favourites, he also completed 11 passes to Kevin Walter for 144 yards and a touchdown, as well as six other recievers, for a total of eight different recievers and 497 yards passing.
"I'm just trying to give guys a chance to make a play," Schaub said. "The one to Andre was fourth down. He had two guys on him. I don't even know how he caught it. We got behind in a tough environment and we battled, and it just shows the resolve this team
has."
Shaub makes a good point. The Texans have been everyone's sleeper playoff team for years, but this season they're not sleeping anymore. Plagued by inconsistency and the inability to perfrom in tough moments in the past, the Texans have started the season
with a victory on the road, in the division, against the defending AFC Champion Colts (it doesn't get much tougher).
To follow that up with a hard-fought victory, again on the road, against a team they're supposed to beat is a huge statement for the Texans.
Games like this, a week after a huge win, against a team from the other conference away from home, are no walk in the park, and the Redskins certainly didn't make it easy.
Donovan Mcnabb was fantastic in his own right, going 28/38, for 426 yards, and also hitting eight different receivers. This was an old-fashioned, cowboys-and-indians, shoot-out, and its ending was every bit as fascinating as the rest, if for different reasons.
Faced with a 52-yard field-goal attempt in the first possession of overtime, Texans coach Gary Kubiak decided to punt for field position. Faced with the same decision, from the exact same distance, on the ensuing possession, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan
decided to go for the win there and then.
Rookie kicker, Graham Gano, stepped up and slotted the long kick right down the middle, only to find that Kubiak had called timeout just before the snap to negate the kick. Gano missed it the second time around, giving the Texans excellent field position,
which they took advantage of, Neil Rackers kicking the winning field-goal from 35 yards.
Cagey stuff from Kubiak, I like it.
Tags: