Texans pull off last-minute win over Bengals to claim AFC south title and playoff berth – NFL Recap
The Houston Texans pulled off a win in last couple of seconds of their closely finished game against Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday to clinch the American Football Conference (AFC) south division title and make it to playoffs for
the first time in the franchise history.
The rookie quarterback Taylor Jonathan (T.J.) Yates finally paid off the Texans for their trust and confidence posed by them in him by throwing a six-yard touchdown pass when only two seconds were left to closure of the game to
help them record 20-19 win.
"It's pretty crazy," Yates said. "A lot of people in this organization have waited a long time for this. This is a special day for this team and this organization."
T.J.Yates had managed to hold for 26 out of 44 for total 300 yards. This included two touchdowns, one interception and five sacks.
The win has helped the Texans 10-3 to make it to playoffs for the first time in their history. With the loss of Tennessee Titans they also managed to claim the AFC south title.
The team celebrated their playoffs berth when Yates scored for them in the closing seconds of the game but had to wait for the news on Titans game in their locker room before being confirmed to be the division champions.
"Hey, we're champs!" receiver Jacoby Jones said. "All my years I've been playing, I've never been on a team that got over the hump."
Meanwhile the loss has come as a major setback in Cincinnati Bengals' hopes for a wild card berth in playoffs. This loss was the Bengals' third straight loss in last four games. The team is really disappointed over their recent
performance despite having lived up to their playoffs ambitions earlier in the season.
"As far as the team goes, they are very disappointed and I'm going to have to pump some air in them," Coach Marvin Lewis said. "Before this game, we controlled our own destiny, and now I can't tell you what is going to happen."
The win has Texans way despite that they have been going through problems at quarterback. Their star quarterback starter Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart are out due to injuries. They were then left with their fifth round pick T.J.
Yates to start for them in last couple of days.
They were also without their wide receiver Andre Johnson who had pull off from the match on Saturday due to a hamstring injury.
Texans are first team in the National Football League (NFL) to have made it to playoffs this season. They still have three more games to play in current season. The performance of Yates as a quarterback has come as a good news
for them before going into playoffs, raising their hopes for Super Bowl berth.
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