As always, a Houston Texans win means it is time to sing the praises of someone whose contributions to the victory may have gone unnoticed by the masses.
In this game, it was very easy to go unsung when you have a running back who became the first player in franchise history with 100-plus rushing and receiving yards in a single game, a quarterback who was 18-for-23 for two touchdown passes, and an offensive line who kept said quarterback from getting sacked and helped free up 200-plus yards on the ground.
Defensively, Chris Johnson was held in check, and then some, thanks to the efforts of leading tackler Brian Cushing, Brice McCain had a pick-six, and rookies J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed both notched sacks to garner some blog headlines.
Who does this leave? The guy who made a play at the game's turning point. Intrigued enough to jump? Of course you are.
Matt Hasslebeck reared back and chucked it deep into the arms of a leaping Danieal Manning, who caught it at Houston's 13-yard line for the second interception of his season. It's more incredible when one realizes that Manning fractured his leg on the play and still held onto the ball.
Manning's interception would set up the offense for an 87-yard drive that would be capped off by a Matt Schaub to Joel Dreessen touchdown pass, which is all Houston would really need in their 41-7 beatdown of the rival Titans.
The interception truly was the turning point and kept momentum on Houston's side. For his efforts, we salute Danieal Manning as this week's unsung hero and wish him a speedy recovery and return to the field.
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