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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL at SD | BUF at JAX | DEN at CHI | GB at DET | HOU at CLE | IND at ATL | MIA at PIT | MIN at NYG |
| NO at CAR | NYJ at DAL | OAK at KC | PHI at NE | SEA at STL | SF at ARI | TEN at CIN | WAS at TB |
Week 12 Game Recap: Houston Texans 17, Cleveland Browns 27
What you need to know
| Houston Texans |
The Texans struggled to generate points and defense, losing their sixth game of the year to the Cleveland Browns. Matt Schaub threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns but his two interceptions were poorly thrown passes that killed key drives for the Texans. Schaub targeted TE Owen Daniels and WR Kevin Walter the most each catching 82 yards, one touchdown and 65 yards, one touchdown respectively.
Ron Dayne led the Texans running game with 16 carries for 78 yards. Although Dayne was able to carry for an average of nearly 4.9 yards per carry, none of his carries were able to pick up big yardage and he failed to score a touchdown in the game. The Texans largely gave up on the running game in the second half and Dayne's production in the passing game was a meager two receptions for seven yards.
Defensively, the Texans were unable to shut down the Browns offense, be it rushing or passing the ball. The Browns receivers were able to out-physical the Houston defenders, gaining multiple yards after the catch and failing to tackle Jamal Lewis with the first tackler on the play. As a result the Browns were able to control the clock, winning the time of possession game by over ten minutes and kept the Houston offense off the field.
| Cleveland Browns |
The Cleveland Browns were very successful running and passing the ball against the Houston Texans, ultimately winning their seventh game of the year. QB Derek Anderson had a very efficient day throwing for 253 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and completed 68.6% of his passes. Kellen Winslow led the way receiving with ten catches for 107 yards and one touchdown. Braylon Edwards, while struggling at times during the game, was able to catch four passes for 57 yards and one touchdown. Both receivers were effective at not only finding the gaps in the Houston defense, but they made some very tough catches in tight coverage.
Jamal Lewis had an excellent day running the ball, carrying 29 times for 134 yards and one touchdown. The Browns offensive line had an excellent day moving the Houston defense off the line of scrimmage and creating multiple openings for Lewis.
Defensively, the Browns were able to generate a decent pass rush, sacking Matt Schaub twice but it was the play of the secondary that really carried the defense. Browns DB Brandon McDonald was able to shut down WR Andre Johnson, limiting the Texans receiver to a mere three catches and 39 yards. With Johnson shut down, the Texans were forced into shorter passing routes and could not take advantage of the deep pass for most of the game. Cleveland was also able to limit the effectiveness of the Texans' rush attack, holding Ron Dayne to 78 yards and zero touchdowns.
What you ought to know
| QB Matt Schaub, Pass: 22 - 36 - 256 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0 |
Schaub posted decent passing yardage but struggled for most of the day due to the fact that Andre Johnson was shut down by Browns DB Brandon McDonald. As a result, Schaub was forced to his second and third reads on the play, and while he did have time to make the reads, he was clearly rattled by the coverage on his biggest passing weapon. Of his two interceptions, one came on the Cleveland 37 yard line in the midst of a very effective drive. His second came on an under-thrown deep pass to Andre Johnson. Despite the interceptions, Schaub did have time to go through his progressions and find open receivers. He was only sacked twice, both on blown coverage assignments by the offensive line.
| RB Ron Dayne, Rush: 16 - 78 - 0, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) |
Dayne was contained for most of the game, struggling to find room to run behind an offensive line that could not generate much movement on the line of scrimmage. His longest run was only 14 yards and he was a non factor in the passing game. The Texans moved away from the rushing game in the second half, using Dayne almost exclusively as another blocker. His two catches were the result of good defensive pass coverage, and he was a safety outlet for Matt Schaub.
| WR Kevin Walter, Rec: 6 - 65 - 1 (10 targets) |
Walter became the primary target for Matt Schaub almost by default due to Johnson's struggles. His 17 yard touchdown catch came from a blown coverage assignment by Browns DB Leigh Bodden which left Walter all alone in the end zone. His role for the game was largely that of a possession receiver, working over the middle of the field and in shorter yardage passing situations.
| WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 3 - 37 - 0 (6 targets) |
Johnson was shut down for the afternoon and struggled to gain any separation from the Browns secondary. He found himself in tight coverage off the line of scrimmage and the Texans seemed unable or unwilling to run him in any kind of quick out pattern.
| WR Andre Davis, Rec: 3 - 51 - 0 (5 targets) |
Davis had a quiet day, catching only three passes for 51 yards. He was largely a third option in the passing game and struggled to generate much yardage after the catch.
| TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 7 - 82 - 1 (9 targets) |
Daniels benefited from Andre Johnson's struggles, often becoming the primary receiving option on pass plays. His six yard touchdown catch was a tough grab over the middle of the field. Daniels did have a key fumble in the game one that turned the ball over on the Cleveland 39 yard line and killed another Houston drive.
| PK Kris Brown 1 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Brown had a fairly quiet day going one for two in field goals, missing a 46 yard attempt in the second quarter. He was two for two on extra point attempts.
| HOU Rush Defense |
The Houston rush defense was unable to contain Jamal Lewis. The Browns offensive line was able to generate good movement against the Houston defensive line, creating good running lanes for Lewis. The real problem with the Houston rush defense was their inability to tackle Jamal Lewis as he often shed the first and second tacklers and forced his way down the field.
| HOU Pass Defense |
The Houston pass defense, much like the rush defense, was unable to combat the physical play of the Cleveland receivers. Often times during the game, the Texans were able to cover the Browns receivers, but failed to out-muscle the receiver for the ball with the end result being a Cleveland reception. Cleveland was especially adept at finding gaps in the coverage up the middle of the field and took advantage accordingly.
| QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 24 - 35 - 253 - 2 TD / 1 INT |
Anderson had a very good day, with the only bad pass being an interception on an under-thrown pass to Braylon Edwards in the second quarter. Outside of the interception, Anderson was able to find all three of his primary receivers all game long. His line gave him plenty of time to throw and he did a good job of going through his receiver progressions on most plays.
| RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 29 - 134 - 1, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) |
Lewis had an excellent game, running with power up the middle of the field on most of his carries. His longest carry of the day, a 17 yard run off the right side, typified his day. The run was a simple off guard run up the middle. Lewis forced his way through the line, made one defender miss a tackle and proceeded to hit three more defenders before being brought to the ground. On the run, Lewis not only looked strong but he had a quickness to his step that allowed him to gain a head of steam as he ran downfield. Houston was unable to defend this kind of physical running game, and the result was an excellent day for Lewis.
| RB Jason Wright, Rush: 3 - 14 - 0, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (4 targets) |
Wright was used primarily as a change of pace third down back, one who could be used more in a passing role than Jamal Lewis. He only carried the ball three times for 14 yards and caught three balls for 21 yards.
| WR Joe Jurevicius, Rec: 5 - 55 - 0 (8 targets) |
Jurevicius continued in his role as possession receiver, making most of his catches in short yardage passing situations. His longest reception of the day, a 25 yard catch, came off a play action fake the opened up the right side of the field and allowed Anderson to connect with Jurevicius. Despite being wide open, two Houston defenders, from the opposite side of the field were able to run Jurevicius down.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 4 - 57 - 1 (10 targets) |
Edwards had a good day by most standards but still did struggle at times. He had three key drops in the game, all three being well placed passes that hit him square in the numbers. On all three plays, Edwards appeared to take off running down the field before he had secured the football. Despite the drops, QB Derek Anderson still went to Edwards as the primary receiver in the offense. Edwards would have had at least two more catches, as he did manage to get wide open close to the sidelines, but under-thrown passes by Derek Anderson prevented the additional receptions.
| TE Kellen Winslow Jr, Rec: 10 - 107 - 1 (10 targets) |
Winslow had a very good game, working the middle of the field and catching every pass thrown his way. Houston double teamed Winslow for most of the game but despite the coverage, Winslow was able to find space to make a catch or jump over the defenders to grab the ball. His physical style was more than the Texans could handle as demonstrated on his touchdown catch. On the play, Winslow broke free towards the center of the field and caught a laser like pass between two Houston defenders. Winslow had to drop to his knees to make the catch and despite taking two big hits, he held on to the ball, scoring the touchdown.
| PK Phil Dawson 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points |
Dawson had a good day, going two for two in field goals and hitting all three extra point attempts.
| CLE Rush Defense |
The Browns did struggle to contain Ron Dayne during the first half of the game. Dayne found most of his yardage up the center of the Browns defense. As the game went on, however, Houston abandoned the running game to try and catch up with Browns offense.
| CLE Pass Defense |
The Browns pass defense did a decent job of limiting Matt Schaub and the entire Texans passing game. In particular, DB Brandon McDonald's job of shutting down Andre Johnson allowed the defense to roll coverage toward the opposite side of the field. Despite the success in shutting down Johnson, Cleveland was still vulnerable up the middle of the field on passing plays. Added to this problem, some coverage assignments proved to be problematic, most notably on a blown assignment that allowed TE Owen Daniels to be wide open on a 17 yard touchdown catch.
