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Postgame notebook: Texans vs. Raiders

By Nick Scurfield
October 4, 2009 Comments (0) | Avg. Rating
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Jones scores on kick return  Share This

The Texans dominated the Raiders 29-6 on Sunday at Reliant Stadium and pushed their 2009 record to 2-2.

Jones takes off: Wide receiver Jacoby Jones scored on a 95-yard kickoff return in the third quarter. It came on a punt from Shane Lechler that followed Brian Cushing's tackle for a safety. Jones ran untouched through a hole in the middle of the Raiders' coverage team, then cut over to the right sideline to evade Lechler on his way to the end zone.

"(Special teams coordinator) Joe (Marciano) said, ‘Well, it's going to be a kickoff, but he's going to punt,'" Jones said. "Joe made the call, the boys did a great job of blocking and I just ran for life."

It was Jones' third touchdown in three games. He caught a touchdown in back-to-back games before this week. Jones, who also has two punt returns for touchdowns in his career, is now tied with André Davis and Jerome Mathis with the most kick return touchdowns in team history.

"I think Jacoby has been special this year," coach Gary Kubiak said. "As a receiver, as a returner, when he gets rid of that one play where the ball is on the ground, I'm thinking that this guy has a chance to be a great, great player. So, I'm proud of him. I'm proud of all his work to get to where he is at right now. I think he's on his way to a good year."

Jones described his confidence level after the game.

"I worked hard in camp and watched Andre Johnson, André Davis, Kevin Walter and all of those older guys," Jones said. "The game is slowing down to me, and I'm starting to have fun like I'm back at Lane College."

No hug for mom: Jones' touchdown was his fourth in regular-season play at Reliant Stadium. It was the first time that he didn't score in the north end zone, where his mother, Emily London, has a seat in the front row. Jones normally jumps in the crowd into London's arms after each score, but he would've had to run across the entire field to do it this time.

"After I scored, somebody said, ‘Run to your momma,'" Jones said. "I was like, ‘Man I'm a little tired.' So I just danced and then went to go point to her after the fact."

"The game is slowing down to me, and I'm starting to have fun like I'm back at Lane College."

WR Jacoby Jones
Running game concerns: The Texans topped 100 yards rushing for the second consecutive week, but they averaged just 2.9 yards per carry. Kubiak was discouraged after the game, saying he expects the Texans' two-back scheme to be able to run against eight-man fronts.

"Our big (running) plays came with their nickel defense on the field," Kubiak said. "We have to line up on first downs and second downs with our base offense on the field and run the ball, and we have not been doing that."

The Texans averaged 5.1 yards per carry in the first half, gaining 82 yards. They ran for only 1.5 yards per carry on 25 attempts in the second half. Kubiak said that he kept the ball on the ground because he wanted to put more running plays on film.

"I'm going to take that because I was totally committed to us running the ball and being able to come out of this game and see what our problems are running the ball," Kubiak said.

Slaton responds: Running back Steve Slaton fumbled in the first quarter after tripping over guard Kasey Studdard in the backfield. The fumble came with 5:20 left in the first quarter, and Slaton was benched until the 11:37 mark of the second quarter.

On his first carry after fumbling, Slaton reversed field and zigzagged through the Raiders' defense for an 11-yard gain. Two plays later, he scored on a 32-yard touchdown run, and he added an 18-yard touchdown catch on the Texans' next drive.

"Steve came back and responded and played extremely well," Kubiak said. "I'm glad he responded to the fumble. Whether he responded to Ryan (Moats) going in there and playing well, or I don't know what he responded to, but he did. He came in and made a great run one time when we totally would have turned in. He played tough, he played better. "

Moats gets involved: Ryan Moats got his first carries of the season and finished with 56 yards on 15 attempts (3.7 avg.). Kubiak said that he planned to give Moats some playing time even if Brown hadn't been sick.

"It was important," Kubiak said when asked about getting Moats involved. "Ryan went in and played well. Obviously, Ryan is capable of getting us some quality plays in there, so we'll practice him and get him a chance to do some work."

Sellout streak intact: The Texans have sold out 75 of 75 home games in franchise history. The team announced the paid attendance at 70,291 on Sunday.

Texans fans did their part to help the Texans' defense in the game, contributing to three false start penalties on the Raiders in the first half.

Follow Nick Scurfield on Twitter at twitter.com/NickScurfield or find him on the "I'm A Texan Club" at imatexan.com/profiles/Nick_Scurf/.

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