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Game Notes: Texans vs. Lions

THE TEXANS…

• Improved the Texans record to 2-0 in Thanksgiving Day games, joining Baltimore, Carolina and New Orleans as the only other teams with a perfect record on Thanksgiving Day 

• Improved the Texans record in the month of November to 16-9 since 2014

• Improved the Texans record to 4-1 against Detroit in franchise history 

• Marked the Texans' fourth-consecutive win against the Lions, dating back to 2008

• Gave Interim Head Coach Romeo Crennel his first win against Detroit and his first ever win on Thanksgiving Day

• Notched consecutive wins for the first time since Weeks 15-16 of 2019

• Notched the first interception by the Texans on Thanksgiving Day in franchise history 

• Improved Interim Head Coach Romeo Crennel's interim head coaching record to 6-4

• Became the first team to score at least 40 points on Thanksgiving Day since the Lions in 2015

• Became the 13th active NFL franchise in league history to score at least 40 points on Thanksgiving Day 

• Scored at least 40 points in a game for the first time since Week 5 of 2019 against Atlanta

• Became the first team to score 40 against the Lions on Thanksgiving since the Tennessee Titans in 2008

• Had two running backs catch a touchdown in the same game for the first time since Week 7 of the 2014 season vs. Pittsburgh (Arian Foster and Alfred Blue)

• Gained 384 total net yards (77 rushing, 307 passing) and 21 first downs (four rushing, 15 passing, two by penalty)

• Forced three turnovers (one interception, two fumble recoveries) for a turnover differential of plus-two

• Held the Lions to just 3.8 yards per carry, 5.1 yards per play and 5.9 net yards per pass attempt

• Held the Lions to 6-for-13 on third-down (46.2 percent) and 1-for-3 on fourth-down (33.3 percent)

• Had two takeaways in the first quarter and three in the first half for the first time since Week 16 of 2019 vs. Tampa

• Totaled at least 23 points in the first half of a game for the first time since Week 6 of 2019 against Kansas City

• Held the Lions to 43 rushing yards in the first half, which was the fewest since Week 14 of 2019 against Denver 

• Recorded two forced fumbles in the first half of a game, which was the first time since Week 4 of 2019 vs. Carolina

• Compiled four sacks and eight quarterback hits as a team

SCORING PLAYS

• 1st Quarter – DE J.J. Watt intercepted a pass from Lions QB Matthew Stafford and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown to cut the Lions lead to 7-6 after K Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the extra point attempt 

• 1st Quarter – RB C.J. Prosise caught a two-yard touchdown pass from QB Deshaun Watson to complete a three-play, 30-yard drive (1:26) and extend Houston's lead to 13-7 after K Ka'imi Fairbairn made the extra point attempt

• 2nd Quarter – RB Duke Johnson grabbed a 33-yard touchdown pass from QB Deshaun Watson to finish off a five-play, 60-yard drive (2:38) to give the Texans a 20-14 lead after K Ka'imi Fairbairn made the extra point attempt

• 2nd Quarter – K Ka'imi Fairbairn connected on a 42-yard field goal attempt after a nine-play, 56-yard drive (4:31) to extend the Texans' lead to 23-14

• 3rd Quarter – K Ka'imi Fairbairn made a 26-yard field goal attempt after a nine-play, 67-yard drive (4:14) to extend Houston's lead to 26-17

• 4th Quarter – WR Will Fuller V caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from QB Deshaun Watson to complete a six-play, 85-yard drive (2:51) and extend the Texans' lead to 34-17 after WR Keke Coutee caught the two-point attempt

• 4th Quarter – WR Will Fuller V hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass from QB Deshaun Watson on the first play of Houston's drive (0:10) and extend the Texans' lead to 41-17 after K Ka'imi Fairbairn made the extra point attempt

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• The following six Texans players were inactive for the game: WR Isaiah Coulter, FB Cullen Gillaspia, T Charlie Heck, QB Josh McCown, DE Nate Orchard and WR Kenny Stills

• The following Texans players did not play in the game: T Roderick Johnson and QB AJ McCarron

• Detroit won the toss and elected to defer. Houston received the first half kickoff

TEXANS PLAYER NOTES

ILB TYRELL ADAMS

• Recorded 17 total tackles (14 solo), two forced fumbles and one pass defensed

• Tied the franchise record for the most total tackles in a single game (17)

• Became the fourth player since 1994 with at least 17 total tackles and two forced fumbles in a single game

• Joined Marcus Davenport as the only players since 2000 with two forced fumbles on Thanksgiving Day 

• Became the first player since 1994 with at least 10 total tackles and two forced fumbles in the first half of a game 

• Logged the second and third forced fumbles of his NFL career (Week 16 of 2019 at Tampa Bay)

• Totaled the fourth game of his career with double-digit tackles (Week 5, 7 and 9) 

• Recorded seven-consecutive games with at least six total tackles for the first time in his career 

• Recorded 60 total tackles for the first time in a single season in his career

• Joined Zach Cunningham, D.J. Swearinger and Glover Quin as the only Texans players with 60 total tackles, three tackles for loss and three special teams tackles in a single season 

• Logged the third pass defensed of his career

• Forced a fumble on Lions RB Jonathan Williams in the first quarter that was recovered by CB Bradley Roby at the Lions' 30-yard line. Houston scored a touchdown three plays later

• Forced a fumble on Lions RB Kerryon Johnson at the 21-yard line in the second quarter. The fumble was recovered by DT Brandon Dunn

P BRYAN ANGER

• Punted three times for 117 yards (39.0 avg.) and pinned one punt inside the 20

• Passed Donnie Jones (225) for the eighth most punts inside the 20-yard line in NFL history through a player's first nine seasons

WR BRANDIN COOKS

• Finished with five receptions for 85 yards (17.0 avg.) 

• Recorded consecutive games with at least 80 receiving yards for the first time since Weeks 10-11 of 2018

CB KEION CROSSEN

• Notched three total tackles (one solo), two special teams tackles and one pass defensed

• Registered his second game with multiple special teams tackle this season (Week 6 at Tennessee)

• Leads the team with 11 special teams tackles this season, which is a single-season career high

• Owns the second-most total special teams tackles in the NFL this season (Colts S George Odum, 15)

• Recorded the second pass defensed of his career

ILB ZACH CUNNINGHAM

• Notched nine total tackles (six solo) 

• Passed Benardrick McKinney (101 in 2016) for the second-most tackles by a Texans player in the first 11 games of a season

DT BRANDON DUNN

• Finished with two total tackles (one solo) and one fumble recovery

• Recovered a fumble on Lions RB Kerryon Johnson at the 21-yard line in the second quarter. The fumble was forced by ILB Tyrell Adams 

• Registered his second career fumble recovery and first since Week 4 of 2017 vs. Tennessee

K KA'IMI FAIRBAIRN

• Scored nine points on two made field goals and three made extra point attempts

• Connected on a 42-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter to extend the Texans' lead to 23-14

• Made a 26-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter to extend Houston's lead to 26-17

• Has not missed on a field goal attempt from within 40 yards since 2017

• Owns the second-most points scored in franchise history (Kris Brown)

WR WILL FULLER V

• Finished with six receptions for 171 yards (28.5 avg.) and two receiving touchdowns

• Joined WR Amari Cooper as the only players with at least 170 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions on Thanksgiving Day since 1990 

• Caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from QB Deshaun Watson in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 34-17

• Snagged a 34-yard touchdown pass from QB Deshaun Watson in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 41-17

• Posted his single-season franchise-record fifth game with 100 receiving yards, which ranks tied for second in the NFL

• Caught his seventh touchdown of the season and now owns 23 touchdowns in his NFL career (2016-20)

• Has logged 21 touchdown receptions from QB Deshaun Watson in 33 games played together

• Extended his single season career high in receiving yards (879)

• Tied DeAndre Hopkins (eight in 2018) for the third-most receiving touchdowns through 11 games in team history 

• Notched the franchise record for the most touchdown receptions (22) in team history by a player in their first 53 games

• Owns the most touchdown receptions by a player on less than 250 career targets since 2017

• Notched his 13th game with at least 100 receiving yards, which is the third-most in franchise history

• Joined Andre Johnson as the only players in franchise history to record 13 100-yard receiving games within their first 53 career games 

• Set a new single-season career-high in receptions (50) 

• Joined Mike Evans (2020), Tyreek Hill (2020) and D.K. Metcalf (2020) as the only players in the NFL in the past two seasons with a receiving touchdown in seven of the first 11 games 

• Joined DeAndre Hopkins (2017 and 2018) as the only players in Texans history with a receiving touchdown in seven of the first 11 games

• Passed DeAndre Hopkins (22) for the most receiving touchdowns by a Texans player in their first 53 career games

• Became the third-fastest player in franchise history to 3,000 receiving yards (53 games)

• Tied Kevin Walter (24) for the fourth-most receiving touchdowns in franchise history

• Passed Owen Daniels (2,972) for the third-most in franchise history by a player in their first five seasons

ILB NATE HALL

• Finished with four total tackles (one solo), 2.0 sacks, two quarterback hits, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble

• Notched the first forced fumble and first two sacks of his career on the same drive in the fourth quarter

• Became only the sixth player in franchise history with at least 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble in a game within their first two seasons and the first since DE J.J. Watt in 2012

RB DUKE JOHNSON

• Ran for a team-high 37 yards on nine carries (4.1 avg.) 

• Caught three passes for 43 yards (14.3 avg.)

• Grabbed a 33-yard touchdown pass from QB Deshaun Watson in the second quarter to give the Texans a 20-14 lead

• Caught his first receiving touchdown of the season and the 12th of his NFL career 

• Scored his second overall touchdown this season (rushing touchdown in Week 9 at Jacksonville)

• Owns the fourth-most receptions (299), third-most receiving yards (2,752), fourth-most receiving first downs (125) and the third-most receptions of at least 20 yards (32) by an NFL running back since 2015

• Became the fifth active running back with at least 2,500 receiving yards and 20 total touchdowns in their first six seasons

• Notched his most receiving yards in a game since Week 13 of 2019 against New England 

DT COREY LIUGET

• Finished with two total tackles and notched his second tackle for loss of the season and the 66th of his career

OLB WHITNEY MERCILUS

• Finished with one solo tackle, 1.0 sack, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit and one pass defensed

• Sacked Lions QB Matthew Stafford for a loss of four yards on 3rd-and-8 at the Houston 44-yard line to end the Lions last offensive drive of the first half 

• Tallied his first sack since Week 5 vs. Jacksonville and now owns 3.5 sacks this season

• Passed Mario Williams (53.0) for the second-most sacks in franchise history with 54.0, trailing only J.J. Watt 

• Notched his fifth tackle for loss of the season and owns 68 in his career, which is the second-most in team history 

• Registered his sixth quarterback hits of 2020 and the 111th of his career, which is the second-most in team history

• Logged his first pass defensed of the season and the seventh of his NFL career

• Joined J.J. Watt as the only players in franchise history with at least 4.0 sacks in eight different seasons

DE CHARLES OMENIHU

• Finished with two total tackle and two quarterback hits

• Notched his team-leading 10th and 11th quarterback hits of the season

RB C.J. PROSISE

• Ran for 12 yards on five carries (2.4 avg.) and caught one pass for two yards (2.0 avg.) and one touchdown

• Caught his first touchdown of the season on a two-yard pass from QB Deshaun Watson in the first quarter

• Notched the first receiving touchdown of his career and his third overall touchdown (two rushing)

S JUSTIN REID

• Recorded eight total tackles (five solo), 1.0 sack, one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits

• Sacked Lions QB Matthew Stafford for a loss of seven yards on 2nd-and-6 at the Detroit 35-yard line 

• Logged his second career sack and now has a sack in back-to-back games for the first time in his NFL career

• Registered his single-season career-high fifth tackle for loss of the season and now owns eight in his career

• Became the fourth defensive back in franchise history with a sack in back-to-back games

• Notched his third and fourth quarterback hits of the season, which extends a single-season career high

• Tied for the third-most tackles for loss (five) in a single season by a defensive back in franchise history

• Passed Glover Quin (226) for the seventh-most tackles by a Texans player in their first three seasons

• Became the eighth player in franchise history with a tackle in each of his first 42 games

CB BRADLEY ROBY

• Registered one pass defensed and one fumble recovery

• Recovered a fumble from Lions RB Jonathan Williams at the Lions' 30-yard line in the first quarter that was forced by ILB Tyrell Adams

• Tallied his fifth career fumble recovery and first since Week 13 of 2017 at Miami when he was with the Broncos 

• Notched his seventh pass defensed of the season and now owns 75 career pass defensed 

QB DESHAUN WATSON

• Completed 17-of-28 passes (68.0 percent) for 318 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and an 150.4 rating

• Ran for 24 yards on eight carries (3.0 avg.) 

• Completed a two-yard touchdown pass to RB C.J. Prosise in the first quarter to extend Houston's lead to 13-7

• Threw a 40-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to WR Will Fuller V

• Completed a 34-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to WR Will Fuller V

• Posted his sixth 300-yard passing game of 2020 and owns 16 in his career, which is second-most in team history

• Threw his 21st and 22nd touchdown pass to WR Will Fuller V in 33 games played together 

• Joined QB Tom Brady as the only players in NFL history with at least four touchdown passes and a 150.0 quarterback rating on Thanksgiving Day

• Became the eighth quarterback in NFL history with at least 300 passing yards and four touchdown passes on Thanksgiving Day, and the first since QB Matthew Stafford in 2015 

• Owns the second-most passing yards by a Texans player in the first 11 games of a season, surpassing his 2019 total (2,899)

• Became the fifth player in NFL history with at least four touchdown passes on 17-or-fewer completions on Thanksgiving Day

• Set Texans franchise records for passing yards (318) and passing touchdowns (four) on Thanksgiving Day 

• Tied for the most games with a 100.0 passer rating in a single season in franchise history (eight). Watson owns a 118.4 passer rating since Week 3

• Totaled the fourth-highest passer rating (150.4) in a Thanksgiving Day game since 1948

• Has thrown a touchdown pass in all 11 games this season, which only he has done in franchise history (2018)

• Recorded the most passing touchdowns (22) by a Texans quarterback in the first 11 games of a season

• Owns the fourth-most passing touchdowns (94) and sixth-most passing yards (12,917) by a quarterback in their first 49 career games 

• Tied for the second-most games (eight) with multiple touchdown passes in a single season in franchise history

• Recorded his 14th career touchdown pass of at least 40 yards

• Notched the third-highest passer rating (150.4) of his career

• Logged his 13th career game with at least three touchdown passes, which passes Matt Schaub for the most in team history. It marked Watson's third game with three-or-more touchdowns this season (Week 5 and Week 7)

• Became the only quarterback in each of the past two seasons to notch 250 passing yards and one touchdown pass in 10 of the first 11 games of a season and the 11th in NFL history

• Owns seven career games with four-or-more touchdown passes, which marks the third-most games with four-or-more touchdown passes by a player in their first 49 career games

• Joined Matt Schaub (2008-10) as the only players in franchise history with at least 3,000 passing yards in three straight years

• Earned a win against the 18th different NFL team

DE J.J. WATT

• Finished with four total tackles (two solo tackles), a quarterback hit and an interception returned for a touchdown

• Intercepted a pass from Lions QB Matthew Stafford in the first quarter and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown to cut the Lions lead to 7-6 

• Became the third defensive lineman with an interception returned for a touchdown on Thanksgiving since 1950, joining Dave Ball (2008) and Larry Cole (1968) 

• Logged his second regular season interception and second career pick-six (80 yards in Week 4 of 2014 vs. Buffalo)

• Scored his sixth career overall touchdown (three receiving, one fumble recovery and two pick-sixes)

• Tied for the third-most touchdowns (six) by a defensive lineman since 1970 

• Tied Aaron Glenn for the third-most pick-sixes in franchise history behind Johnathan Joseph (four) and Kareem Jackson (three)

• Joined Jason Taylor and Julius Peppers as the only players in NFL history with at least 100.0 sacks and six touchdowns in their careers 

• Notched his ninth quarterback hit of the season and owns 274 career quarterback hits, which is the most in the NFL since QBHs became an official stat

• Notched his seventh pass defensed of the season and owns tied for the fifth-most career passes defensed (61) by a defensive lineman in NFL history and the most by a defensive lineman since 2011  

• Passed Carlos Dunlap (60) for the fifth-most passes defensed by a defensive lineman in NFL history

• Passed Dunta Robinson (42) for the third-most games with a pass defensed in franchise history

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