It’s been tough being a Texans fan in the first five weeks of the NFL season. As if Hurricane Ike wasn’t enough, Houstonians had to witness tragedies unfold on the football field, watching the home team drop its first four games of the season. With the worst start in franchise history, fans began sharpening their theories on who the team should select as the No. 1 overall draft pick.
But the fate of the Texans’ season turned a corner in the act of a quarterback sneak. As Matt Schaub tiptoed into the end zone and passed to the Miami defenders for the winning score, the Texans were no longer snake-bitten, no longer a team defeated and no longer a team that couldn’t finish.
A ray of hope
Strong words for only one win, but the Texans did more than beat a 2-3 Dolphins team. Houston – which lost to the Jaguars in overtime failed to hold onto a late lead against the Colts the last two weeks – played 60 minutes of football for the first time this season.
It wasn’t a pretty hour for the Texans, who gave Miami plenty of chances to clinch a win for themselves.
The Texans handed the ball over four times in Sunday’s game, and the timing could not have been worse. In Houston’s first two possessions, Schaub proceeded to hit wide-open Dolphin defenders, killing any momentum the Texans may have held early in the game while setting up touchdown opportunities for Miami.
With 55 seconds left in the third quarter – and flirting with a drive for the end zone – a fumble by Texan wide receiver Andre Johnson at the Dolphins’ seven-yard line sucked the air out of Reliant Stadium as fans watched a barrage of green jerseys come up with the loose ball.
The most devastating of the four turnovers occurred when cornerback Eugene Wilson fumbled a potential game-clinching interception with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter. This opportunity for the opposition seemed to declare a sickening fate for the Texans for the third consecutive week, with the Dolphins driving for the go-ahead score.
However, the Texans continued to play hard until the clock read 0:00.
Facing fourth and long with less than a minute to play, Schaub connected with Johnson for 23-yard pass capped off by a miraculous catch by the Pro Bowler to keep the drive alive.
Two plays later, Schaub threw a 30-yarder to wide receiver Kevin Walter, who fought to keep his balance long enough to skip out-of-bounds to preserve the clock. Houston continued to scrape and claw its way down the field, and to the surprise of many, rolled its way into the end zone.
A team that would have folded a week or two or even five weeks ago, didn’t in Week 6, and the result was a win.
No brain, just brawn
If Week 6 proved anything, it showed the definite potential the Texans possess. Their 1-4 record doesn’t do justice to the talent that hits the field every week under the tattered roof of Reliant Stadium.
They have plenty of speed and talent at the receiver positions with Johnson, Walter, Andre Davis and tight end Owen Daniels. Rookie running back Steve Slaton looks to have a bright future with his abilities, and the idea of losing his spot to a rookie has veteran Ahman Green stepping his game up of late, bolstering the Texan running game substantially.
We’ve seen the offensive line improve week by week mirrored by the defensive line, which – despite the season opener in Pittsburgh – has limited the opponents’ run offense.
We’ve even seen glimpses of solid play from our quarterbacks, given their time in the pocket. What we haven’t seen, however, is smart football; they’re not bad, they’re dumb.
The Texans repeatedly shot themselves in the foot against the Dolphins on Sunday. They still pulled out a win, but as usual, made it harder with elementary mistakes.
Leaving holes in the secondary doesn’t secure victory, no matter who you are. Throwing into double coverage isn’t smart even if your target is Lynn Swann. Being too conservative on offense with eight minutes on the clock, a surmountable lead and a Hall of Fame opponent at quarterback is not a game plan to be admired on Monday.
You can blame it on whatever you want, but whether it’s bad coaching, dumb passing or fumbling a game-winning interception, the Texans have got to step up their game mentally if they want to truly compete in AFC South and the NFL.
