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Houston vs. Tennessee


GameCenter · Team Stats · Full Play-by-Play · Drive Charts · Recap · Live Commentary (Glog) · VideoVideo Recap
 
 
 
Johnson's big show helps Texans tame Titans; Haynesworth hurt
 
 

CBSSports.com wire reports

HOUSTON -- Never mind that they've already clinched the AFC South and a first-round playoff bye, the Tennessee Titans are miffed about their 13-12 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.

A letdown could be expected after securing their playoff spot last week, but a win against Houston and a Pittsburgh loss later Sunday would have secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Now, next week's game against the Steelers will have much more meaning.

"Hopefully we'll be up for the challenge and guys will come back from vacation," linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "I think we were on vacation this week, knowing we got a bye and whatever other good stuff happened for us last week. But I know as a team we need to get our heads out of our (expletive) and come out and play football. Pittsburgh is playing for way more than us next week."

Andre Johnson had a career-high 207 yards receiving and a touchdown, and Kris Brown added a pair of field goals to lead the Texans to their fourth straight win.

Already eliminated from playoff contention, the Texans (7-7) are shooting for the first winning season in franchise history. Sunday marked the first time they've won four games in a row, and the victory snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Titans.

"They weren't doing that well, but it was their Super Bowl and credit them for being the good team today," Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan said.

Johnson struggled in Houston's first game against Tennessee (12-2), finishing with just 29 yards receiving and dropping two would-be touchdown passes. On Sunday, Johnson got going early, with eight catches for 154 yards before halftime. It was the most first-half yards receiving in the NFL this season.

Johnson put the Texans up 10-3 with a 13-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. He set that up when he got in front of Michael Griffin for a 65-yard catch-and-run four plays earlier.

He has a career-high 1,408 yards receiving this season.

"Andre was special today," coach Gary Kubiak said. "The reason he's special is because I can move him all over the place and it doesn't bother him."

Johnson had more than a little help from his defense. The Texans held Tennessee to 100 yards rushing after the Titans had gained 527 in the previous two games. It was the first time they didn't score a touchdown since a 17-6 loss to the Chargers in last year's AFC wild card playoff game.

With two minutes left, the Titans went for it on fourth-and-3 from the Houston 32, but Kerry Collins' deep pass to Justin McCareins flew just out of his reach.

"That field goal may have won us the game, but I think we did a lot of things to lose the game before that," Bulluck said. "I think Coach (Jeff Fisher) made the decision he needed to make."

Fisher said he thought the kick wasn't in Rob Bironas' range.

"It was not a good coaching decision," Fisher said.

Tennessee's LenDale White put the loss in perspective.

"It's a big win for them as an organization," White said. "(But) no matter what they do, they'll still go home (during the) playoffs. We have a lot to look forward to."

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Steve Slaton's runs helped the Texans to one more first down and Houston ran out the clock. Slaton had 24 carries for 100 yards. He had 116 yards rushing in the teams' first meeting, making him the only player to rush for more than 100 yards against the Titans this season.

"The thing that has impressed us so much about this kid is that he seems to run better at the end of games," Kubiak said. "For a small player he gets stronger as the game goes on."

The Titans had to settle for a 34-yard field goal that made it 13-12 when Mario Williams tackled Collins short of the first down on third-and-12 with about 5½ minutes to play.

Brown's 24-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter pushed Houston's lead to 13-9. Finnegan had two costly penalties on that drive, one for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Matt Schaub and another for spearing when he jumped head first to make a tackle.

Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was injured near the end of the game when his left leg was caught under the pile. He remained on the turf for several minutes while Titans officials looked at him. He finally got up and hobbled off the field.

Fisher didn't have an update, but his teammates were concerned.

"We shouldn't have lost this game," defensive end Jevon Kearse said. "We had plenty of chances to win this game and then for one of our big defensive players to go down ... hopefully if he's not able to go next week we have somebody else who can step in and pick up the slack."

Notes

  • Texans CB Antwaun Molden broke his ankle and will miss the last two games.
  • Slaton has 1,124 yards rushing this season to set the franchise record for yards rushing by a rookie.
Copyright 2008 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
Talk Back
Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Apr 26, 2007

December 14, 2008 5:25 pm

Sure, I'm sick over this game and can't imagine not going with Bironas on the kick but more than the loss, I cannot imagine us going on a run without Albert. The Steelers next week is one thing but post season?  Hoping and praying for the best.

Jevon Kears ...(more)

Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 2, 2007

December 14, 2008 9:40 pm
(n/a)
Reputation:91
Level:All-Star
Since:Aug 22, 2006

December 14, 2008 6:31 pm
I get that there was a lot of time left, and picking up that 1st would allow the Titans to run the clock down more before scoring, but going for it, if you don't convert 4th and 3, which isn't too high percentage a situation, you are pretty much screwed. Before the play happened I was thinking its a bad call if they actually snap it and go ...(more)
Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 2, 2007

December 14, 2008 9:46 pm
1. Near perfect defense

2. Near perfect offensive line

3. Near perfect run game

4. Near perfect kicker (come on jeff 49 yarder is a chip shot)

5. Most inconsistent WR's in the game

 One game a team will stop our run (Bears) and WHAM! almost 300 yards for Collins. Then the next game a team stops our ru ...(more)

Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Sep 15, 2007

December 14, 2008 8:10 pm
Obviously wrong. Fisher is much smarter then that. Either Bironas was hurt, or he something was with the wind, I don't know, but Fisher isn't stupid enough to go for it all, when a FG wins it. I'm waiting on Kerry to be benched too, VY could have won that game with his legs. IE: The last run Kerry did, VY gets a first down there, he's not as slow as a glacier.
Reputation:90
Level:All-Star
Since:Oct 15, 2008

December 14, 2008 5:09 pm
I think it's high time to anoint Andre Johnson as a top 3 receiver, with Larry Fitzgerald and Randy Moss- and I'm not just talking fantasy drafts. This kid is the Raul Ibanez of t ...(more)
Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Nov 13, 2007

December 14, 2008 5:05 pm
(POLL)  Fisher decides against attempting a game winning 49 yard FG with a minute left and one of the best kickers on his team, who had earlier hit from 51 and was 4 for 4 on the day, to go for a 4th and 3 and fail. 
 Meanwhile Jauron, with 2 minutes left and the Jets making no effort to stop his running game, decides to pa
...(more)
Reputation:79
Level:Pro
Since:Apr 29, 2007

December 14, 2008 5:30 pm
He obviously saw Shannahan do something similar this year when the Broncos could have kicked a PAT to tie but went for two instead and got the win. Shannahan sure looked a lot smarter than Fisher because he made it.

This was slightly different though as Fisher could have won the game with a field goal. As a result, he looks
...(more)
 
Andre Johnson's monster game helps the Texans' bid for their first winning season.
 
Andre Johnson's monster game helps the Texans' bid for their first winning season. (Getty Images)
 

 
Scoreboard
Final1234T
Tennessee (12-2-0)333312
Houston  (7-7-0) «0100313
 
GameCenter
 
Scoring Summary
1ST QUARTER
FGRob Bironas 26 Yd, 8:38. Drive: 6 plays, 24 yards in 2:57.
2ND QUARTER
FGKris Brown 32 Yd, 14:57. Drive: 16 plays, 60 yards in 8:41.
TDAndre Johnson, 13 Yd pass from Matt Schaub (Kris Brown kick is good), 11:03. Drive: 5 plays, 89 yards in 2:50.
FGRob Bironas 23 Yd, 0:02. Drive: 4 plays, 93 yards in 0:37.
3RD QUARTER
FGRob Bironas 51 Yd, 9:40. Drive: 9 plays, 30 yards in 3:48.
4TH QUARTER
FGKris Brown 24 Yd, 11:45. Drive: 7 plays, 58 yards in 2:47.
FGRob Bironas 34 Yd, 5:23. Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards in 2:53.
Chevrolet Players of the Game
Houston

A. Johnson
Rec 11
Yds 207
Avg 18.8
TD 1
Tennessee

J. Gage
Rec 3
Yds 76
Avg 25.3
TD 0
Vote for the Chevrolet Player of the Week
 
Tennessee
PassingCP/ATYDSTDINT
K. Collins15/3318101
RushingATTYDSTDLG
C. Johnson1365016
L. White826012
K. Collins2506
J. McCareins1404
ReceivingRECYDSTDLG
J. Gage376034
B. Jones351040
J. McCareins336017
B. Scaife31109
A. Hall1505
C. Johnson2201
Houston
PassingCP/ATYDSTDINT
M. Schaub23/3928410
RushingATTYDSTDLG
S. Slaton24100034
M. Schaub4708
C. Sapp1000
ReceivingRECYDSTDLG
A. Johnson11207165
O. Daniels441019
S. Slaton31508
J. Dreessen2905
K. Walter2805
D. Anderson1404
Complete Player Stats
 
Other Games
CLE  
PHI  
NYG 8 Final
DAL 20
NE 49 Final
OAK 26
MIN 35 Final
ARI 14
SEA 23 Final
STL 20
BUF 27 Final
NYJ 31
SF 9 Final
MIA 14
SD 22 Final
KC 21
GB 16 Final
JAC 20
DET 21 Final
IND 31
WAS 13 Final
CIN 20
DEN 10 Final
CAR 30
PIT 13 Final
BAL 9
TB 10 Final
ATL 13
NO 24 Final
CHI 27
 
 
   
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