TEXANS 23 - MIAMI 13
With the game on the line, five-time Pro Bowler Andre Johnson found himself covered by a reserve cornerback. The result was no contest, just like the one-sided series between the Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins.
Johnson badly beat Nolan Carroll for a 23-yard score Sunday that helped seal the Texans' 23-13 victory over their favorite foils.
Houston improved to 6-0 against Miami, in part because the Dolphins' sieve-like pass defense was no match for Johnson and Matt Schaub.
The Texans improved to 2-0 for the second year in a row. Last season they faded to 6-10, extending their streak of never making the playoffs.
"We've been here before in this situation," said Johnson, who is in his ninth season with Houston. "Our goal is to go 1-0 every week."
The Dolphins are 0-2 for the fifth time in the past six years, and perhaps it's just as well they're on the road for most of the next two months. They're 1-11 at home since late 2009.
"This stinks," receiver Brandon Marshall said. "We're trying to get things going in our stadium and our community, and you have to win at home to do that. It's frustrating. It's embarrassing."
With fan apathy on the rise the stadium was half empty, despite Miami native Johnson buying 170 tickets for family and friends. He uncharacteristically dropped a deep pass in the third quarter but more than made amends, finishing with seven catches for 93 yards."Andre made some great plays all day long," Schaub said. read more
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CBS Marc Vandemeer
Chris
Myers said that Sunday’s win over Miami wasn’t pretty and he was right. Matt Schaub was harrassed all afternoon. A rookie running back gained over 100 yards in his debut and the Texans blew almost all of a 13 point lead.
But the important thing is they didn’t lose. In fact, when the Dolphins were seizing momentum, the
Texans responded with a forced turnover, a reheated ground game and a Schaub touchdown pass to Andre Johnson that sealed the deal.
It’s refreshing to see the Texans defense making big plays after struggling to historic proportions last season. When Miami found success running in the third quarter, it felt like the day might slide out of control. But not with these Texans. The culture on the defensive side of the ball is decidedly different. And special teams blocked a field goal (thank you, J.J. Watt), produced some booming punts (including Hartmann’s franchise record 69-yarder) and stayed pefect on field goals (Rackers is 5 for 5).
Concerns include run defense and, to a lesser extent, pass protection. But you get the feeling that everything is correctable and this bunch will learn their lessons while winning most of their games as opposed to attending the school of hard knocks. read more
