Click here to see all recaps on a single page
| Other Week 12 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF at KC | CAR at ATL | CHI at STL | CIN at PIT | GB at NO | HOU at CLE | IND at SD | MIN at JAX |
| NE at MIA | NYG at ARI | NYJ at TEN | OAK at DEN | PHI at BAL | SF at DAL | TB at DET | WAS at SEA |
Week 12 Game Recap: Houston Texans 16, Cleveland Browns 6
What you need to know
| Houston Texans |
QB Sage Rosenfels played an ok game, but really showed he needs to work on his accuracy to keep a job in the NFL. He was often behind on crossing patterns with no pressure on him. He threw two interceptions largely because of this.
RB Steve Slaton and Ahman Green split time as expected, but Ahman Green did not play the fourth quarter due to his inability to stay healthy, although it was not clear what happened. Slaton clearly looked better at running the ball, but the Texans liked running Green in short yardage situations.
WR Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter caught 17 balls for 209 yards. Walter caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter, and both of them looked amazing running the Cleveland defense all over the field. Owen Daniels had a very quiet game, only receiving four targets.
| Cleveland Browns |
The Browns turned the ball over five times. QB Brady Quinn threw two interceptions and was pulled for Derek Anderson as he failed to move the offense efficiently. Derek Anderson threw one interception, and failed to impress when he was running the offense. RB Jamal Lewis fumbled the ball twice and both were his fault. Cleveland's lack of ball security really cost them.
WR Braylon Edwards also really cost the Browns, dropping several passes that could have gave the Browns a little momentum. He was targeted 16 times and only caught the ball five times. Kellen Winslow was also unable to get involved in the offense, only catching one ball for 11 yards.
What you ought to know
| QB Sage Rosenfels, Pass: 24 - 32 - 275 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 0 - 0 |
Rosenfels was unimpressive overall, throwing two interceptions. He started off the game hot with a great throw to Kevin Walter but really did not get anything going after that. He was often throwing behind his receivers forcing them to significantly adjust to the pass and allowing the defense to catch up to them.
| RB Steve Slaton, Rush: 21 - 73 - 0 |
Slaton was splitting time with Ahman Green in the backfield. He had much more success than did Ahman Green, who did not play the fourth quarter. He looked quick and showed great vision in the backfield, allowing holes to develop enough to gain a few extra yards. He was more successful as the game went on, which could have been a result of the Browns turning the ball over so frequently.
| RB Ahman Green, Rush: 13 - 39 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Green initially split time with Steve Slaton in the backfield like usual, but had little success. He took a few hard hits and ended up not playing in the fourth quarter -- presumably due to an injury.
| RB Vonta Leach, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Leach was the fullback and saw one target which he caught for nine yards.
| WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 10 - 116 - 0 (12 targets) |
Johnson was targeted often by Rosenfels, who seemed to trust Johnson. He caught ten of the 12 balls thrown his way and gained 116 yards. He did not find the end zone but proved to be a force regardless.
| WR Kevin Walter, Rec: 7 - 93 - 1 (9 targets) |
Walter opened up the game hot with a great catch over the defensive back. He secured every catchable ball thrown his way, showing off his hands. Walter was Rosenfels' second favorite target behind Andre Johnson.
| WR Andre Davis, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
Davis saw little action on the day, playing behind Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter. He caught one pass for ten yards.
| WR David Anderson, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
Anderson was the fourth wide receiver and caught the only ball thrown his way for an 11 yard gain.
| TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (4 targets) |
Daniels had a fairly quiet day, only receiving four targets from Rosenfels. He did not get involved in the game early and it seemed like the Browns always had their eyes on him to try to prevent that.
| PK Kris Brown 3 - 5 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
Brown had a tough day, missing a field goal and having one blocked. He made three field goals though.
| HOU Rush Defense |
The Houston run defense looked porous at times. They allowed big holes to be made by the Cleveland offensive line and allowed Jamal Lewis to average 5.8 yards per carry.
| HOU Pass Defense |
The Texans played pretty well against the pass. Mario Williams proved he is a force to be reckoned with, getting by Joe Thomas with ease. The secondary did get three interceptions also, but those were mainly bad reads or throws and not due to exceptional coverage.
| QB Brady Quinn, Pass: 8 - 18 - 94 - 0 TD / 2 INT |
Quinn had a rough game, and was ultimately benched. He completed only eight of 18 passes but his receivers really did not help him out early in the game, and it seemed to get into his head. He threw two interceptions on back to back passing attempts, but the second really was not his fault as Braylon Edwards did not break well out of his slant route.
| QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 5 - 14 - 51 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
Anderson came in for Brady Quinn at the end of the third quarter due to Quinn failing to lead the offense successfully. Anderson was not much more successful, though, as he only completed five of 14 pass attempts and threw behind Jason Wright on a dump off causing it to get intercepted. Anderson still was in the habit of forcing the ball into good coverage, but he did make a couple of great throws that were not able to be brought in by Braylon Edwards.
| RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 10 - 58 - 0, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
Lewis ran the ball well, but uncharacteristically fumbled the ball twice and really cost the Browns. He was cutting well and hitting the hole hard. He also was blocking very well, but he may be losing carries to Jerome Harrison who received seven carries while Lewis only had ten carries.
| RB Jerome Harrison, Rush: 7 - 31 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Harrison saw more plays on Sunday than he has in the past, cutting into Jamal Lewis' touches. He was fairly successful running the ball but the Browns were in a situation where they needed to pass the ball.
| RB Lawrence Vickers, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Vickers snuck out of the backfield for one pass and caught it for four yards.
| RB Jason Wright (2 targets) |
Wright did not see much action and looks to be falling in the depth chart behind Jerome Harrison.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 5 - 85 - 0 (16 targets) |
Edwards once again failed to impress, catching only five of the 16 balls thrown his way. He dropped three passes he legitimately should have caught and often gave up on his patterns because he thought he was covered. This cost the Browns once as Edwards did not finish his slant and Quinn threw it to where he was going and the pass was intercepted. Edwards did have a couple of nice plays but all-in-all he really cost the Browns.
| WR Josh Cribbs, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Cribbs saw some action at wide receiver and one play as a quarterback in the wildcat formation. It was a designed option with Kellen Winslow running an out pattern, but Cribbs ran it as Winslow was well covered.
| WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (4 targets) |
Stallworth was the second wide receiver but only caught one ball for 18 yards. He seems to not have developed any chemistry with either quarterback since he has been injured all year.
| WR Syndric Steptoe, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Steptoe was rarely used on that day and caught a short pass on his only target.
| TE Kellen Winslow, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (6 targets) |
Winslow had a slow day, dropping one pass and being well covered for the majority of the game. He seemed to be getting angry with the coverage and was called for a pass interference call when he pushed off of the Texans' defender to create space late in the game.
| PK Phil Dawson 2 - 3 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 6 points |
Dawson shanked a field goal that would have brought the Browns within seven points of the Texans because his foot slipped when he planted to kick the ball.
| CLE Rush Defense |
The Browns stopped the rushing attack of the Texans for the most part. They only allowed 112 yards on 34 carries and most of that came outside the tackles.
| CLE Pass Defense |
The Browns made it tough for the Texans through the air also, forcing two interceptions and batting down several balls at the line of scrimmage. They did give up 275 yards to Rosenfels, but they were on the field a lot due to a five to two turnover deficit.