It was both ugly and beautiful at times, but that is the roller coaster ride that comes with rooting for the Houston Texans.
The Houston Texans avoided the let down and beat the Oakland Raiders 31-24. The Texans move to 3-1, for the first time in franchise history, and continue to sit atop the AFC South. Yes, forget about the game for a second, and allow that fact to sink in. Your Houston Texans are 3-1 and leading the AFC South by a game over Tennessee and Jacksonville.
If you missed the game then allow me to recap it for you. The Texans ran, behind Steve Slaton and Derrick Ward, to a pair of early touchdowns and stopped running. The Raiders were able to figure out Frank Bush's defense and answered the Houston scores. After a missed Neil Rackers field goal, the game was tied at 14 after the first half.
During halftime, someone must have gotten a clue as the Texans came out to a dominant third quarter. Houston ran the ball for 121 yards, including a franchise-record 74-yard touchdown run by Arian Foster, and held Oakland to a minuscule 28 total yards of offense. The Texans seemed unstoppable, and all was right in the world, right?
Well, not quite as the Raiders managed to claw back and make it a game until Troy Nolan essentially ended it with his second interception. Yes, you read that correctly. The Texans had two interceptions from a free safety. Unreal, right?
I know some would've preferred to see the Texans not allow the Raiders to make it a game in the fourth quarter, but the only thing that matters is the "W." The Texans - minus Andre Johnson, Brian Cushing, and Duane Brown - did enough to win the game, move to 3-1, and, maybe, find a playmaking free safety to help improve that secondary.
Next week: The Return of Brian, but let's revel in today's victory before we look ahead. The comments are all yours so let the praise flow and the good times roll, BRBers.
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