Game Recap
Detroit Lions at Houston Texans
Sunday, October 19, 2008
*Schaub, Texans keep Lions winless*
HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Matt Schaub tossed a pair of touchdowns to tight end Owen Daniels Sunday, leading the Houston Texans to a 28-21 victory over the winless Detroit Lions.
Rookie Steve Slaton and Ahman Green each rushed for a score as the Texans (2-4) jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Schaub completed 26-of-31 passes for 267 yards, finding Daniels for a 2-yard TD in the first quarter to open the scoring and hitting him again for a 1-yard strike late in the third.
"I was pleased with the way I played today," Schaub said. "You try to go out there and search for that perfect game, but it's hard to come by. The guys up front are playing their tails off. Kevin Walter is a workhorse. Across the board, everyone is making plays."
The Lions (0-6) tried to mount a comeback behind Calvin Johnson, who hauled in a 96-yard TD reception and the ensuing two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 28-18.
"As a team we expect to finish games off and play at a high level," Schaub said. "I think we left some points on the field. It's hard to win in this league, and we'll take them any way we can get them."
On Detroit 's next drive, Jason Hanson kicked his second 54-yard field goal of the game with 4:21 to play, bringing the Lions within 28-21.
But Green converted a third down with a 1-yard rush on the ensuing possession, allowing Houston to run out most of the clock. Detroit got the ball back with 10 seconds left at its own 2-yard-line and had little success after a series of laterals, resulting in a fumble out of bounds.
The Texans received a boost from their running back combination of Slaton and Green, who combined for 142 yards on 31 carries.
Outside of the goal line, Schaub's favorite target was Andre Johnson, who made 11 catches for 141 yards.
"He's going to make some big plays for us," Schaub said. "As a quarterback, if you get one-on-one coverage with him, he's going to secure the ball and make a big play for us."
Johnson recorded his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game and fourth overall this year.
"We were determined to come out and play our best football," Johnson said. "We did that for a half today. We just made mistakes in the second half. All in all, we got the win and that's all that matters.
"When we looked at their defense, it reminded us of the Indy defense. We were just able to find some spots in there."
Daniels had eight receptions for 66 yards.
Texans coach Gary Kubiak knows the Texans have a long way to go.
"The first half, we were explosive coming out," Kubiak said. "But that turnover right before the half... it put back into everybody's mind, oh, here it comes again. There are so many things we have to improve on. But you have to enjoy winning in this league.
"Sometimes you play good enough to win and you don't, but we have to understand situations better. It all comes back to coaching, and that's me. This team's capable of beating anybody, and it's a maturing process."
Making his second career start, Dan Orlovsky passed for 265 yards and one score for the Lions, who surrendered 29 first downs and were dominated in time of possession. Houston controlled the ball for over 40 minutes.
Lions coach Rod Marinelli believes his team is getting better.
"I feel that there were some things that were a lot better this week than in other weeks," he said. "I will have to go back and look at the tapes, but overall I feel that the progression of the team was a good one.
"(The Texans) did a good job and the quarterback was hitting his marks, and they did a good job running the ball in the first half."
