Houston Texans vs Browns: Game Recap and Radio Highlights

 The Houston Texans started the game with a dominating nine-play drive that featured much more of Matt Schaub than many people thought.  However, Ben Tate finished the drive with a beautiful 23-yard run.

On the first offensive play from scrimmage for the Browns, Houston native Chris Ogbonnaya fumbled the ball and JJ Watt recovered.  This may have been the only highlight for Watt, but he played a fantastic game helping the defense to control the line of scrimmage.  Watt ended the game with three tackles including one tackle for a loss.

The Texans subsequently took advantage of the short field and on third and goal from the two yard line. Kubiak spread the field and Schaub ran the ball in for his second rushing touchdown in two weeks.

With more than seven minutes left in the first quarter, the Texans had to feel like they had already taken a commanding lead against the Browns, who were playing without Peyton Hillis or Montario Hardesty.

The Texans and Browns then exchanged punts, until the Texans got the ball back with 12 minutes left in the first half.  The Texans put together a seven-play, 71-yard drive that featured two huge runs.  The first was another Ben Tate scamper for 24 yards on the first play of the drive.  Foster finished the drive with a 19-yard touchdown.

After a Matt Schaub interception, Cleveland took over on their own 42 yard line.  However, the recently re-signed Quentin Demps picked off McCoy, and after a penalty the Texans took over on the Browns' 20 yard line.

Neil Rackers knocked in a short field goal to give the Texans a 24-3 lead at halftime.

Cleveland received the ball to start the second half, but things went no better for them.  Brooks Reed recorded his second sack of the day to give the Texans the ball back after a Cleveland three and out.  Reed has really looked good since Mario Williams was lost for the season.  Reed on the day had five tackles, three QB hits and two sacks, and brought consistent pressure and energy.

After the Browns punted, Foster almost took one to the house, until he made a cut back and tripped across Kevin Walter.  The drive began with five consecutive runs and totaled seven in all while the Texans marched down to the Browns' three yard line. 

However, they failed to punch it in when Kubiak mysteriously decided to go away from the run on second and third down from the three yard line.  Instead, Rackers came on to kick his second field goal of the day.

The Browns put together a decent series, but Connor Barwin registers the fourth sack of the day for the Texans.  That would put many kickers out of range, but Phil Dawson still has a strong leg and knocks through a 51-yard field goal to make the score 27-6.

The Texans offense continued to plow through the Browns' front seven with both Tate and Foster.  The sheer effort of both backs was off the charts, as was the type of performance that teammates and coaches love.

That drive eventually stalled and led to another field goal by Rackers.  This is the one thing that may lead to concerns amongst the fans.  The team dominated the entire game, but only scored six points in the second half.  While there was no chance that the Browns were going to steal this game away from them, it is still reminiscent of the New Orleans game when the Texans gave up a two-score lead in the fourth quarter.

This team will need to prove to the always skeptical Houston fans that they can put together a full 60 minutes on both offense and defense before they completely buy in to the team.  However, with Andre Johnson returning—possibly as soon as next week but more than likely after the bye week—it is hard to worry too much about the second-half offense.

The Texans defense eventually gave up a touchdown to Joshua Cribbs, but by that time the game was well in hand.  The biggest play was a pass to Little down the sideline, but on that play Brooks Reed absolutely demolished McCoy as soon as he let go of the ball.  On the next pass play, Reed was in McCoy's face again but barely escaped.

Shaun Cody, host of "On the Nose", got to have a little fun when he dropped back into coverage on the two-point conversion and intercepted McCoy, limiting the Browns to 12 points on the day.

In the end, the Texans should be complimented for dominating the game.  This Browns team is not a very good team, especially without Hillis or Hardesty.  Even with them, they lack an outside playmaker on offense, and have no real impact defensive player.  This is a game that the Texans should have dominated, and they did.  Next week will be a step up in competition when they travel to Tampa Bay, but the Bucs don't have an elite outside threat on offense either. So, the Wade Phillips defense should be able to do well next week as well.

A special thanks to the flagship station for the Texans SportsRadio 610, Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware on the call, and Program Director Gavin Spittle for all of the audio used on this page.