Final Thoughts: Houston Texans Week 1

Sep 9, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) celebrates as he walks off the field after a 31-28 win against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

For fans of the Houston Texans or even the San Diego Chargers, the Monday Night Football Week 1 finale that saw the Texans defeat the Chargers, 31-28 on a last-second 41-yard field goal by Randy Bullock must have been a roller coaster of emotions.

The Texans looked like a completely different team in the second half than they did in the opening two quarters, because from my view, the reigning AFC South champions looked lost, confused or shell-shocked early on, but either way they didn’t look like a team that was picked to contend for the AFC Championship, especially in the opening minutes of the first quarter with the interception on the first play, followed with a Chargers touchdown.

It just wasn’t a good start for the visitors.

But the texans did what championship teams do, and that was rally to score 24 unanswered points, starting around the 10 minute mark of the third quarter to rally for the win.

The Texans were so desperate at one point they converted a fake put, but no points came from it.

Then again, that second half was simply amazing to watch as a football fan from both angles, as the Chargers also looked like more like the ’12 Chargers in the final two quarters than the fast-paced, energetic team we all watched in the first half.

It was impressive on two fronts of the Texans’ comeback as their defense took over in the second half, especially with the interception for a touchdown by Brian Cushing to make it a 28-28 score in the third quarter.

J.J. Watt was quiet in the first half, but when Houston needed him to come through (remember the batted pass in the second half) the AP Defensive Player of the Year was there wagging his finger at the Chargers.

I do believe the Texans really need to work on their defensive back coverage though, because that seemed to be the worst part of their defense Monday. Where is Ed Reed when you need him?

Again, as I wrote following the game, I was impressed with the play of Andre Johnson as his 12 receptions for 146 yards bailed the Texans out numerous times when they needed a positive play.

Overall, I felt Matt Schaub played a nice game for Houston going 34-of-45 for 346 yards and three touchdowns, with Owen Daniels catching two and Garrett Graham catching one. The two tight ends make the Texans very dangerous.

Houston ended the game with 449 yards of offense, compared to the 263 yards by the Chargers, so the Texans should be happy with that overall result of yardage, as they did have over 100 yards combined from Ben Tate and Arian Foster.

All-in-all just leaving the West Coast with a win is the best case scenario for the Texans. Now they have a short week to prepare for the 1-0 Tennessee Titans in an AFC South showdown that should be very interesting to say the least.