The Week Four Red Zone Rev--What Do You Mean This Post Has Been Called Back On A Penalty?!

It's always nice to watch the Texans get another W notched on the record, albeit a little confusing to experience, but this was a great game for the Texans on a number of levels.

The Texans lost Andre Johnson to a strained hamstring, and we didn't pack it in and call it an afternoon.  They completely lost their composure and let the Steelers back into a game that they really shouldn't have been in, and still they pull it out.  The pass rush was on Roethlisberger like...well...Ben Roethlisberger on a drunken coed.  But for me, the best, and most cathartic, part of today's win was that it was earned in spite of the referees calling penalties against the Texans as if they were paid employees of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The last time I saw such craptastic refereeing that was so heavily biased toward one team was Super Bowl XL.

Yes.  I'm still bitter; but that's beside the point.

The point is that the Texans won despite playing two teams in one game, and didn't have to do too much in the red zone to pull it off, either (which, in case you'd forgotten, was the whole point of this post).

Now that I'm almost through with the catharsis, we should probably see how the Texans did in the red zone.

Jump.  Do it.  Do it now.  Don't ask questions, and pay no attention to the guy blocking the door.

First Quarter

First Red Zone Drive

Our first trip to the red zone began during the Texans first drive of the game; a beautiful 95-yard drive that took almost 11 minutes to complete.  The Texans got into the red zone after Arian Foster (welcome back, Pterodactyl!) caught an eight-yard pass from Matt Schaub to get the Texans to the Thieves'...I mean Stealers'...er...Steelers', yeah, that's it, 14-yard line for a third down and short situation.

The Texans were then faced with a third-and-two at the, um...opponent's 14 when Matt Schaub took the ball and ran two yards for the first down.  Watching Schaub run the ball was probably one of the strangest things I've seen on a football field.

Then it was first-and-10 at the opponent's 12-yard line.  Arian Foster took the ball through a hole off Wade Smith's side for a six-yard gain to the six-yard line.  Funny how that works.

With second-and-four at the opponent's six, Foster gets the call again, shooting a gap off Mike Brisiel's side for a gain of five yards to the one-yard line and another first down.

The Texans take to the air on first-and-goal on the one-yard line with a pass from Schaub to Owen Daniels for a Texans touchdown!

Time Spent in Red Zone:  2:05
End Result:  Owen Daniels Touchdown Reception!
Score:  Pittsburgh 0 - Houston 7

Second Quarter

Second Red Zone Drive

Our second, and final, foray into the red zone comes on the Texans third drive of the day.  They get into the red zone after another Arian Foster run goes for eight yards, landing the Texans at second-and-two at the Steelers' (see, I CAN type it correctly without wanting to throw up) 17-yard line.

On second-and-two Foster runs the ball off the left end side and gets pushed out of bounds at the 11-yard line for a six-yard gain.  This Foster guy is good at football, I think.

Now with a fresh set of downs at the 11, Schaub hands the ball off to, no, not Arian Foster, but Chris Ogbonnaya (which in some cultures means six more weeks of winter) who gains four yards on the play.

The Texans face a second-and-six from the Steelers 7-yard line when Schaub tries to make a short pass to Kevin Walter, which falls incomplete.

With the incomplete pass, it's now third-and-six and the Texans line up in shotgun formation.  Schaub goes back, throws to Foster, which again lands incomplete...dammit.

On fourth-and-six, Kubiak opts to send in the field goal team where Neil Rackers kicks an easy 25-yard field goal.

Time Spent in Red Zone:  1:31
End Result:  25-yard Field Goal by Neil Rackers
Score:  Pittsburgh 0 - Houston 10

Final Results

Number of Trips in Red Zone:  2
Total Amount of Time in Red Zone:  3:36
Average Amount of Time in Red Zone:  1:48
Red Zone Efficiency:  2/2 (100%)
Scores in Red Zone:  1 TD (Daniels), 1 FG (25)

Two Trips.  Really.  That's all folks.  Drive safely.