National Football League

Houston breaks four-game losing streak

Published Dec. 17, 2009 6:31 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

The Houston Texans broke out of their four-game losing streak in grand fashion this weekend.

Matt Schaub had more than 300 yards passing by halftime and the defense scored as many points as it allowed in a 34-7 win over the Seahawks. Andre Johnson had his best game of the season and came just shy of a career-high with 193 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns.

Mario Williams had two sacks and linebacker DeMeco Ryans had 12 tackles as the unit finished with a season-high 15 tackles for losses.

Coach Gary Kubiak was impressed that his stars all had big games Sunday to break Houston (6-7) out of its slump.

``When you look at the game and you look at the guys that led the way it was all of our guys that are supposed to lead the way,'' he said. ``They all played their best and when they do that this team has an excellent chance to win. They all stepped up and did their part (Sunday) and everybody else followed.''

Next up, the woeful St. Louis Rams (1-12) and a chance for Houston to get over its losing streak with consecutive wins.

``It shows we are capable of doing it, and we've just got to continue it next week in St. Louis,'' rookie linebacker Brian Cushing said. ``It doesn't mean anything if you go out and lay an egg.''

The Texans will have to win all of their games to finish with a winning record for the first time. That's the goal for a team that is unlikely to make the playoffs, but still has an outside shot at a wild card spot.

The Texans believe Sunday's win over Seattle will give them the confidence they need to finish the season strong. Houston ends the season against Miami and New England.

Kubiak knows his team can't look ahead to the Dolphins and the Patriots, no matter how bad the Rams are this season.

``They're a young group trying to find their way, but we've got to stay focused and play our ball,'' he said. ``If we go out there and play the way we're capable of playing that's what's most important.''

The offense got a lot of the hype from Sunday's game with the gaudy numbers Schaub and Johnson put up, but Kubiak thinks defense was the key. The group has improved throughout the season after a horrible start and was at its best against Seattle. Safety Bernard Pollard returned an interception 70 yards for Houston's only second-half touchdown on Sunday.

``I think our defense is playing at a big-time level right now in this league with the progress they've made,'' Kubiak said. ``I think they're leading the football team right now with their effort and the way they're going about their business.''

It's not all positive for the Texans this week as they try to figure out why kicker Kris Brown continues to struggle. Brown missed two field goals of less than 50 yards that would have forced overtime in Houston's losing streak. He missed one from 48 yards and had another blocked on Sunday.

He's missed eight field goals this season, which is the most since 2005. The 11-year veteran, who is the only kicker in franchise history, missed just four last season.

``Obviously Kris has struggled and missed some kicks,'' Kubiak said. ``He can't be so frustrated. You've got to stay focused and we need him kicking well for us to be successful. He's got to toughen up and move forward.''

Houston's season-long trouble in the running game got worse last week with Steve Slaton being placed on the injured reserve with a nerve problem in his neck. The Texans had 85 yards rushing on Sunday using Chris Brown, Ryan Moats and Arian Foster.

Moats lost a fumble and Brown gained seven yards on three carries, but Foster was a bright spot with 34 yards rushing and 54 yards receiving in his first action on offense this season.

Kubiak said Foster will get more carries this week.

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League