Week 3 Game Recap: Washington Redskins 31, Houston Texans 15

What you need to know

Washington Redskins

Clinton Portis, making his first start of the season against the Texans, was expected to have an immediate impact. He did. Portis accounted for 164 total yards of offense and two touchdowns before sitting out the entire fourth quarter with the Redskins sitting on a comfortable lead.

On Washington’s second possession, Portis took a shovel pass from Brunell and dashed 74 yards to the Houston 13 yard line setting up their first touchdown. With :09 to go in the first half, the Redskins had the ball at the Houston 30 yard line with one time out left. With John Hall warming up on the side lines, they decided to run Portis up the middle to get slightly better field position. Instead, Portis took the handoff and shot straight up the middle and into the end zone with :01 left on clock, making the score Washington 21 and Houston 7 at the half.

Mark Brunell entered this game with a quarterback rating of 67.7 and zero touchdowns, but threw an NFL record 22 consecutive completions against the Texans. He finished with 261 passing yards and one touchdown while spreading the ball around to eight different receivers.

Washington took control of the game after Houston’s first quarter touchdown and held a 14 point lead at half time. They led 31 to 7 before a fourth quarter Houston TD and two point conversion.

Houston Texans

On Houston’s first drive Carr threw a deep 53 yard post to his favorite target Andre Johnson to put the ball first and goal at the Redskins’ two yard line. On the next play Carr rolled right on an old Denver QB option play and passed two yards to TE Mark Bruener in the back of the end zone for the early 7–0 Texans’ lead. Unfortunately, the Houston offense wasn’t really heard from again until the fourth quarter when Washington was ahead 31 to 7. Carr’s numbers on the day looked okay from a fantasy standpoint, 19 of 29, 208 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, but the Texans were out of this game early.

Andre Johnson accounted for 152 receiving yards and Eric Moulds added another 27, but the two Texan touchdowns were scored by tight ends, 12 year veteran Mark Bruener and rookie Owen Daniels. Ron Dayne started at running back and carried the ball 14 times for 58 yards.

The Houston defense, ranked worst in the league coming into this game, did nothing to improve its standing. They gave up a total of 495 yards on the day but even that does not tell the whole story. Portis ran wild, scored two touchdowns, and Mark Brunell, 36 years old and facing blistering criticism for his erratic play, set an NFL record for accuracy hitting 22 consecutive passes.

What you ought to know

QB Mark Brunell, Pass: 24 - 27 - 261 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0

This was one for the record books. Brunell completed 22 passes in a row, surpassing the old single passing mark in a game of 21 straight completions set by Oakland’s Rich Gannon against Denver on November 11, 2002. Brunell hit eight different receivers while throwing for 261 yards and one touchdown. Many of his passes were thrown short, but he still was able to get the ball down field enough to keep the defense honest. His touchdown pass went to Antwaan Randle El.

RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 16 - 124 - 1, Rec: 3 - 27 - 0 (4 targets)

Washington has a solid running attack and Betts continued to put up good numbers even with Portis back in the starting lineup. The Redskins used him throughout the game, and Betts is both a capable ball carrier and a sure handed receiver out of the backfield. While he and Portis each carried the ball 16 times, he actually rushed for more yards.

RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 16 - 86 - 2, Rec: 2 - 78 - 0 (2 targets)

It seems the Washington offense only needed to get their all-pro runner into the starting lineup to look like a playoff team again. Portis looked quick and demonstrated uncanny vision, picking holes and running to daylight. After gaining 74 yards on a short first quarter pass and run, a trainer was seen checking out his shoulder on the sideline but Portis seemed to be all right. After scoring his second rushing touchdown in the third quarter, he took a spot on the bench as Betts and Cartwright mopped up.

RB Rock Cartwright, Rush: 5 - 15 - 0

With Portis back in the starting lineup, Cartwright didn’t get into the game until the fourth quarter. He gained 15 yards on five carries, and also averaged 20.7 on 3 kickoff returns.

RB Mike Sellers, Rec: 3 - 9 - 0 (3 targets)

Nine yards was all Sellers could gain on the three passes he caught, but he was part of the Redskins’ passing barrage, which involved eight different receivers.

RB T.J. Duckett

Duckett was inactive for this game.

WR Santana Moss, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 6 - 50 - 0 (7 targets)

Brunell’s favorite target caught six passes for 50 yards, and also ran an end around for two yards.

WR Antwaan Randle El, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 3 - 34 - 1 (4 targets)

An end around netted seven rushing yards for Randle El, and in the second quarter he caught a pass in the flat and scampered 23 yards to score the Redskins’ first passing touchdown of the season. He also returned one punt for four yards.

WR Brandon Lloyd, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (4 targets)

Lloyd caught two passes, the longest going for 11 yards.

WR David Patten, Rec: 1 - 25 - 0 (1 targets)

Patten caught the only pass thrown to him, a tough 25 yard grab in the second quarter, which helped to keep Brunell’s consecutive pass completion streak alive.

TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 4 - 18 - 0 (4 targets)

Cooley caught all four passes thrown to him for 18 yards.

PK John Hall 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points

Hall was good on his only FG of the game from 46 yards and converted all four extra point attempts.

WAS Rush Defense

DT Joe Salave’a missed the game and was replaced by rookie Kedric Golston who recovered a David Carr fumble in the third quarter. The Texans only ran 18 times for 61 yards. Washington did allow Ron Dayne to score on a two point conversion run in the fourth quarter which cut the lead to 31 to 15, but overall a strong performance.

WAS Pass Defense

Coming into this game, the Redskins were ranked 25th in allowing third down conversions which worked to keep the Redskins’ offense on the bench. CB Shawn Springs missed another game, but while the Houston passing numbers appear competent, most came when the game was out of reach.

QB David Carr, Pass: 19 - 29 - 208 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 3 - 0

Carr opened the game hitting four consecutive passes and leading the Texans down the field for the first touchdown of the game and a 7–0 lead. He is still adjusting to Gary Kubiak’s offense, which included another fumbled center exchange, but the sacks are down and the passing efficiency is up. From a fantasy standpoint, Carr has great value. He plays on a team with the worst defense in the league and will be playing from behind and airing the ball out all season.

RB Ron Dayne, Rush: 14 - 58 - 0, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (3 targets)

The number one running back in Houston is Ron Dayne. His 58 yards lead all Texans and scored a two point conversion in the fourth quarter. He also caught a pass for 13 yards. Dayne was able to join Houston and step right in after being cut by the Broncos because Gary Kubiak, former offensive coordinator for Denver, employs the same plays and terminology.

RB Samkon Gado, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0

Gado carried the ball once for zero yards.

RB Wali Lundy

Lundy returned two kickoffs for an average of 21 yards.

RB Jameel Cook (1 targets)

Carr hit Cook with a beautiful 24 yard pass out of the backfield which was nullified by a holding penalty. The big fullback had zero carries.

WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 11 - 152 - 0 (14 targets)

Clearly the number one target in the Houston passing attack, Johnson led all receivers with 11 catches for 152 yards. He made a 53 yard catch and run in the first quarter but was tackled two yards short of the end zone.

WR Eric Moulds, Rec: 4 - 27 - 0 (5 targets)

The veteran free agent pitched in with four receptions for 27 yards.

TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 1 - 2 - 1 (2 targets)

The rookie from Wisconsin caught Carr’s second touchdown pass on a classic Denver play, the tight end delay. His score in the fourth quarter cut the Redskins’ lead to 31 to 15 with 12:21 to play.

TE Mark Bruener, Rec: 1 - 2 - 1 (1 targets)

Bruener’s touchdown catch in the first quarter staked Houston to an early lead in this ballgame.

TE Jeb Putzier, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (3 targets)

The former Denver tight end caught one pass for 12 yards.

PK Kris Brown 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points

Brown did not attempt a field goal and made his only extra point. The Texans tried a two point conversion after their second touchdown.

HOU Rush Defense

Houston ranks last in six major defensive categories through two games, including points per game, first downs allowed, yards per play and third down conversions. The Redskins had only scored one offensive touchdown in their first two games, but Clinton Portis appeared to be in mid season form. He ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns, while Ladell Betts added 124 yards and scored on a 9 yard touchdown when TE Mike Sellers blocked down on Mario Williams and allowed Betts to turn the corner.

HOU Pass Defense

Donovan McNabb and Peyton Manning each averaged 350 passing yards against the Texans, and Mark Brunell entered this game with a quarterback rating of 67.7 and no touchdowns. But he set an all time single season consecutive pass completion record hitting 22 straight passes. While giving up big numbers to Manning and McNabb might be excused, Houston must be alarmed at how easily Brunell carved up their secondary, even though many passes were short and underneath. Having Clinton Portis in the Redskins’ backfield certainly changed the defensive dynamic, but it should not have resulted in Brunell’s record breaking performance.