Texans overcome mistakes to beat Miami 29-28
HOUSTON (AP) -- Andre Johnson kept the Houston Texans from fumbling away another victory.
The All-Pro receiver made a spectacular catch over Yeremiah Bell on fourth-and-10 in the final minute and Matt Schaub scored with 3 seconds left to lift the Texans to a 29-28 win over Miami, Houston's first victory of the season.
Johnson caught 10 passes for a franchise-record 178 yards and atoned for his fumble near the goal line in the third quarter, one of four Texans' turnovers.
"When my fumble happened, I came to the sideline and I was hanging my head. I was pretty upset," Johnson said. "I was sitting there and I was like, 'Man, I think I might've just gave this game away.'
"And then the fourth down play happened, so I was able to redeem myself."
Last week, backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels fumbled twice in the fourth quarter to help Indianapolis rally from 17 points down to beat Houston 31-27.
For a while, the Texans (1-4) seemed destined to lose this one, too.
They led 23-21 when reserve cornerback Eugene Wilson intercepted Chad Pennington, returned it 19 yards, then fumbled to give Miami a new set of downs near the 3-minute mark.
Ronnie Brown scored on a 6-yard run with 1:51 left to put Miami ahead, but the Dolphins worried they had scored too soon.
"I was like, 'There is still a lot of time on the clock,"' Brown said.
The Texans were down to their last snap at their own 36 when Johnson snatched the ball away from Bell for a 23-yard gain. Schaub scored on a fourth-down quarterback draw from the Miami 3, but everyone pointed to Johnson's catch as the most significant play of the game -- and Houston's season.
"That was really the game-winner right there," said Schaub, who finished 22-for-42 for a career-high 379 yards with one touchdown and two early interceptions.
The Texans amassed 485 yards, a franchise record, against a Miami defense that was allowing only 289.
"This is a game we feel like we definitely should have won," Bell said. "It's especially hard for our defense at the end of the game to go down and let those guys score. You know that hurts."
The Dolphins' offense sputtered most of the day, going 2-for-10 on third-down conversions and producing only 96 yards rushing.
"It's one of those games in sports where you just really don't have any answers," Pennington said. "Everyone played certainly hard and at the end of the day you realize sometimes it just doesn't go your way."
The Texans, meanwhile, are hoping their climactic drive sparks a turnaround to their season.
"Going down to win the game, I think that was a big test for us," Johnson said. "That was the first time we've been in a situation like that, and we answered it. This was a big win for us. It's better to be 1-4 than 0-5. This win shows what we can do and hopefully it can be the start of something special."
Houston plays Detroit and Cincinnati -- the NFL's last winless teams -- its next two games. Texans coach Gary Kubiak said his main concern moving forward is turnovers -- Houston already has 13 this season.
"We're a 1-4 team and we're battling for our lives," Kubiak said. "We're making a great deal of mistakes as a team, but we're doing some unbelievable things. If we can just figure out a way, from a maturity standpoint, to protect the ball better, do some smarter things in some tougher situations, I think we have a chance to be a dang good football team."
Schaub threw interceptions on Houston's first two possessions. After the second one, the Dolphins went to their single-wing, "Wildcat" formation to take the early lead.
Brown took the direct snap and handed off to Ricky Williams, who pitched to Pennington in the backfield. Pennington hit a wide-open Patrick Cobbs for the 53-yard touchdown.
Texans fans booed heartily after the first interception and chants of "We Want Sage!" echoed through Reliant Stadium.
"It's one of those things you have to go through," Schaub said. "Our fans are eager to win and we were doing the things that hurt you and cause you to lose early in the ballgame, so you just keep playing."
Cobbs pushed the lead to 14-3 on an 80-yard screen pass early in the second quarter.
Kris Brown had field goals of 27 and 33 yards and Jacoby Jones cut Miami's lead to 14-13 with a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter, his first career TD.
He ended the return by leaping into the first row of the stands where his mother sat wearing her son's jersey.
"I was pointing to Mama," Jones said. "I saw her at about the 25-yard line. She was smiling."
Notes: Dolphins LB Joey Porter had a sack to bring his total to 6 1/2 this season, surpassing last season's 5 1/2. ... Texans DE Mario Williams had two sacks and forced a fumble. It was his second consecutive two-sack game.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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