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“It means everything,” defensive end Antonio Smith said. “It almost kind of brings you to tears. Everything he’s been through this season and because he’s been here so long and never been to the playoffs, he came in here and played good and scored a touchdown. I think the fans almost tried to rip his head off when he dived in the stands.”
It was the only time Andre Johnson hesitated all afternoon.
After scoring a 40-yard touchdown on a beautiful double-move on Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones, Johnson paused before leaping into the arms of fans behind the end zone at Reliant Stadium.
“I really wasn’t going to jump into the stands because I knew the people weren’t going to let me down,” Johnson said. “I have jumped into the stands a few times here and I have been grabbed by the facemask and everything.”
The moment was a big relief for Johnson, the longest-tenured member of the team who struggled through hamstring injuries the majority of the regular season. He was antsy to make a play all game, and the reception eased his mind.
It also helped lift his team to a 31-10 playoff win.

TEXANS 23 - MIAMI 13 Gera Vodka Last Play Of The Game!

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 Huff

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.

Houston is now 2-0 for just the 3rd time ever. They have never been three games above. 500 at any point in their history. Next week presents the season’s toughest challenge in a fired up New Orleans team that turned away the Bears to go 1-1.

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

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Intelligence Report

Five things you need to know about the Texans:

1. Revamped and coordinated: Wade Phillips' restructuring of the Texans into a 3-4 is not as radical as it's been painted to be. Most of the guys up front will have the same responsibilities they've had in the past, and offenses will have a much harder time predicting where the fourth pass-rusher and any extras are coming from. If Mario Williams is more comfortable as an outside linebacker by opening day against the Colts, things will really be on the upswing defensively. DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing stand to be tackling machines in the system, and along with Williams, Connor Barwin and rookie Brooks Reed stand to be impact rushers from the outside linebacker slots.

2. Run game sets the tone: The Texans ran all over the Colts in the opener last year and won, then forgot the formula for success in the rematch. Gary Kubiak is a passing-game guru, but fewer throws mean better things for Houston. Arian Foster, despite a nagging hamstring, can be magic behind the Texans' line, and the team will have a deep stable of changeups at running back as well. And the better they run it, the more effective Matt Schaub's play-action and bootleg passing game will be.

3. Secondary should be better: The 2010 Texans were simply overwhelmed in the secondary and gave up yards at an alarming rate. Pass targets simply ran with too much room and too easily gained separation. The plan that had so many kids playing together was a flawed one. Enter free-agent cornerback Johnathan Joseph and free-agent safety Danieal Manning. Each should be a major settling force. They will be resources for Glover Quin, the best corner last year who's shifting to safety and to Kareem Jackson, if the team stubbornly leaves him in the starting lineup rather than going with Jason Allen at the start. The unit has contested far more balls in practice and it should translate. Move from terrible to average and the big picture improves a great deal.

4. Targets are sufficient: Much is made of the steady but unspectacular Kevin Walter and the inconsistent Jacoby Jones as the team's receivers beyond Andre Johnson. But the fact of the matter is that tight end Owen Daniels is the second option in the passing game. The Texans can, and will, sometimes line up with Daniels, Joel Dreessen and tight end-turned-fullback James Casey on the field together with the ability to bunch things up or spread things out depending who's on the field defensively and what matchups are most favorable.

5. Killer instinct: It's a theme the Texans probably get sick of hearing about, but they can easily do away with it by showing a good deal more of it. This was a slow-starting offense a year ago, and in crunch time it was a team that too often failed to throw, or land, the needed knockout punch. Players know people are tired of hearing about Houston as a potential breakout team and a new playoff entry. That doubt can be a driving force. But if this team fails to quiet it, major change awaits.

-- Paul Kuharsky, ESPN.com