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| ATL at STL | BUF at WAS | CIN at PIT | CLE at ARI | DEN at OAK | DET at MIN | GB at DAL | HOU at TEN |
| JAX at IND | NE at BAL | NYG at CHI | NYJ at MIA | SD at KC | SEA at PHI | SF at CAR | TB at NO |
Week 13 Game Recap: Houston Texans 20, Tennessee Titans 28
What you need to know
| Houston Texans |
The Texans lost their starting quarterback in Matt Schaub early with a dislocation of his non-throwing shoulder, and failed to overcome this with Sage Rosenfels at the helm against an aggressive Titans defense. Rosenfels finished 17 of 30 for 185 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while Schaub had connected on three of five for 34 yards prior to departing.
Since his return from injury, both quarterbacks have consistently looked Andre Johnson's way, allowing him to catch nine balls for 116 yards and a touchdown versus the Titans. Owen Daniels finished second on the team with 42 yards on three receptions, followed by Ron Dayne who caught three balls as well for 25 yards. Receivers Kevin Walter and Andre Davis caught one ball a piece, going for eleven and nine yards respectively. Finally, playing with additional blockers against the Titans rush, tight end Joel Dreesen and fullback Vonta Leach caught short passes as well. Dreesen added one catch for nine yards, while Leach pulled in two balls for seven yards.
The Texans relied on a heavy dose of Ron Dayne, but trailing for much of the second half, were unable to utilize him where he is most effective in wearing down defenders. Dayne finished with eighteen carries for 86 yards and an early touchdown. Adimchinobe Echemandu spelled Dayne occasionally, and gained eight yards on five carries. With two official carries, Sage Rosenfels was credited with 25 yards on the ground.
| Tennessee Titans |
Vince Young continued to show his maturation as a pocket passer, and make those plays with his feet when necessary. Young connected on a long touchdown to Roydell Williams and a well thrown ball to Justin Gage at opposite corners of the end zone in the third quarter in pulling away from the Texans. On the day, Young completed 21 of 31 passes for 248 yards with those two touchdowns and one interception. Williams caught five balls for 74 yards including the long touchdown, while Gage pulled in five passes for 64 yards including his touchdown. Eric Moulds contributed as well, catching three balls for 29 yards. Former USC wide receiver Mike Williams lined up wide a few times, but did not catch any balls. Bo Scaife had a productive day from the tight end position with 57 yards on four receptions, while Ben Troupe added a four yard catch as well. Out of the backfield, Chris Brown caught two balls for 13 yards while LenDale White added a seven yard catch.
LenDale White did the majority of the running early on, picking up sixty yards and a touchdown on twelve carries, but left with what was described as a shoulder injury. Later reports acknowledged a dislocation of the middle finger on his right hand. After exiting, Chris Brown saw the majority of snaps and added 46 yards and a touchdown on eleven attempts. Rookie Chris Barclay added three yards on one attempt, playing while Chris Henry serves his suspension. Vince Young gained 44 yards on five official scrambles.
What you ought to know
| QB Sage Rosenfels, Pass: 17 - 30 - 185 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 25 - 0 |
Rosenfels finished with a passer rating of 61.1 by completing 57% of his passes for an average gain of 6.2 yards per attempt, but failed to hold onto the lead he was given about Matt Schaub's departure. Rosenfels consistently faced heavy pressure from the Titans defense and was unable to develop a rhythm with any receiver other than Andre Johnson in this game. The Texans starting quarterback in Week 14 will likely be unknown until later in the week, with Schaub dealing with a dislocation of his non-throwing shoulder.
| RB Ron Dayne, Rush: 18 - 86 - 1, Rec: 3 - 25 - 0 (6 targets) |
Dayne got off to a quick start, but was relatively quiet in the second half of this game following a pair of Titans touchdowns in the third quarter that forced the Texans to turn to the air, and away from his bruising style of running up the middle to wear down defenses. Dayne was clearly affected by the return of Albert Haynesworth to the Titans defense, who clogged up the middle.
| WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 9 - 116 - 1 (14 targets) |
Johnson had a busy day, and came up with a great twenty eight yard catch for a touchdown in helping the Titans to close the gap in this game, though it wasn't enough. Johnson appeared to be Rosenfels' first option on just about every passing play, as well his security blanket when a heavy pass rush was on. Johnson's ability to get open and have a big day despite heavy coverage is a testament to both his skills and return to health.
| WR Kevin Walter, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (3 targets) |
Walter had a quiet day, though was the intended receiver on a deep pass over the middle late in the fourth quarter that was intercepted ending the Texans afternoon.
| TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 3 - 42 - 0 (6 targets) |
Daniels had only one catch until late in the third quarter, as he was forced to stay back on blocking assignments, or was sidelined in favor of blocking tight ends for much of the afternoon.
| PK Kris Brown 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Brown connected on field goals of 45 and 50 yards, as well as two successful extra point conversions. The 50 yard field goal came late in the game as the Texans trailed by 11 and opted for the field goal as opposed to going for it on a fourth and five, showing faith in Brown's leg.
| HOU Rush Defense |
The rush defense gave up 109 yards and two touchdowns to the Titans running backs, with Vince Young adding another 44 yards on the ground on scrambles. The Texans were generally unable to stop many rushing plays, and as a result, lost this division game.
| HOU Pass Defense |
Mario Williams had his best day as a pro with 2.5 sacks, but the team contributed only an additional 0.5 sack, and with just one interception and 248 yards allowed through the air, the Texans could not stop either the pass or the rush against the Titans.
| QB Vince Young, Pass: 21 - 31 - 248 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 5 - 44 - 0 |
Young finished with a passer rating of 78.4 by completing 68% of his passes for an average gain of eight yards per attempt. Young continued to show his maturation as a pocket passer with a deep bomb down the left side to Roydell Williams, and a perfect pass to Justin Gage's back shoulder in the corner of the right end zone for touchdowns in the third quarter of this game. Young avoided the pass rush for most of the afternoon, and limited himself to just five effective scrambles.
| RB LenDale White, Rush: 12 - 60 - 1, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) |
White averaged five yards per carry, with a long of thirteen yards before departing. His injury was initially described as a shoulder injury, however later reports noted a dislocation of his middle finger. His status for Week 14 is not known at the time of the release of this game recap.
| RB Chris Brown, Rush: 11 - 46 - 1, Rec: 2 - 13 - 0 (2 targets) |
Brown took advantage of additional playing time, including a seven yard scamper around left end on his touchdown run. Brown adds the ability to get outside and better receiving skills to the offense, but does not wear down defenses the same way starter LenDale White does.
| WR Justin Gage, Rec: 5 - 64 - 1 (8 targets) |
Gage made a nice catch on a well thrown ball to his back shoulder in the right corner of the end zone, and came down with his feet in bounds for the second of two Vince Young touchdowns in the third quarter of this game. Gage had his fourth straight game with at least four catches and sixty yards, and has earned his spot in the starting lineup over Brandon Jones.
| WR Roydell Williams, Rec: 5 - 74 - 1 (8 targets) |
Williams' big play came on a 43 yard touchdown pass down the left sideline where Roydell beat his defender and caught a well thrown ball from Vince Young. Williams tied for the team lead in targets.
| TE Bo Scaife, Rec: 4 - 57 - 0 (6 targets) |
Scaife contributed with a solid afternoon, spreading out four catches against the Texans and helping to convert a couple of key first downs.
| PK Rob Bironas 0 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Bironas failed to convert on his only field goal attempt, a 53 yarder into the wind on a wet and rainy day in Nashville which he left short. Bironas did successfully connect on all four extra point attempts.
| TEN Rush Defense |
The rush defense struggled with Ron Dayne early on, but the return of Albert Haynesworth coupled with a third quarter lead shut down the Texans rushing game in the second half, and limited their running backs to 94 yards on the afternoon.
| TEN Pass Defense |
While they were not able to slow down Andre Johnson, the Titans shut down the rest of the passing game, and applied enough pressure to knock Matt Schaub out of the game and keep Sage Rosenfels from beating them.
