Texans Beat Raiders With The Sweet Smell of Sage

With half of its Opening Day offense totting clipboards on the sidelines, and its defensive leader headed to the hospital with a busted hamstring, the Texans might have been justified in being pessimistic. Fortunately, for a team that's already been through more injuries than a Very Special Episode of ER, Sage Rosenfels and Ron Dayne wouldn't let them lose hope, allowing the Texans to escape Oakland with a 24-17 win.

After starting hot in the first half, the defense was obviously missing CB Dunta Robinson, who went down with a knee-hamstring injury in the 1st quarter. The Raiders offense got hot in the second half behind QB Josh McCown, who took advantage of Robinson's absence to throw at recently demoted DeMarcus Faggins, who replaced Dunta. Rooke Fred Bennett, starting at the other CB position for the first time, grabbed an interception and looked much better than the more experienced Faggins.

Although they allowed the game to get a lot closer than it should've been, the Texans did quite well with the players they did have at their disposal. The artist formerly known as Ron Dayne did a stunning impression of first-tier NFL running back, racking up 122 yards on 22 carries in place of the injured Ahman Green (who tweaked his knee again early in the game), and Sage Rosenfels filled in nicely for the absent Matt Schaub, connecting with Andre Davis for a fourth quarter touchdown to seal the game and generally not making the sorts of mistakes that have doomed the Texans so far this year.

Perhaps most importantly, the Texans did not succumb to the turnover bug that has typified their past several games. Sage did throw one interception, but it was the only turnover of the game for the team. Coach Gary Kubiak's personal accountability for the team's struggles this year seems to have worked its way into the players' heads as everyone seemed to play with a lot more pride this week.

The Texans enter their bye week on a high note, ready to face the Saints on the other side with a healthier offense (Andre Johnson should finally be back by then, along with Schaub and Green). The banged-up defense will have its hands full with Drew Brees and Reggie Bush. Now if you'll excuse us, it's time to start writing our defense of the Mario Williams draft in preparation for week 11 of the NFL season.

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Photo: flickr user mrp1001