Tom Savage and the Texans triumphed Sunday against the Cardinals, 31-21.
According to head coach Bill O'Brien, the fourth-year quarterback didn't shrink when he faced adversity.
"He played a very mentally tough game," O'Brien said.
Savage finished with 230 yards and completed 22-of 32 pass attempts. He tossed a pair of touchdowns and was picked off once, but it was how Savage responded to a second quarter strip-sack that impressed O'Brien the most.
"He really didn't give in to that mentally," O'Brien said. "I thought he came in back to the sideline and recovered and went on to play a good game."
Savage zipped a 7-yard strike to Lamar Miller, who was totally out of bounds on the play, save for the tips of his toes. The sideline grab by Miller gave the Texans their first lead of the day. Savage's second scoring pass went to DeAndre Hopkins for 28 yards.
"It was just all week just blocking out the noise and the guys just rallied around me," Savage said. "A lot of the guys came up and made some huge plays for me. That's what it's about. It's a team game."
Hopkins, who finished with four catches for 76 yards, said Savage's touchdown pass was right where it needed to be.
"Tom put the ball on the money and gave me the chance to go make the play," Hopkins said. "That's all I ask."
Bruce Ellington caught six passes from Savage for 63 yards. Week after week over the last three games, he's seen Savage improve.
"It was a great job Tom did," Ellington said. "He's getting better every week. We're getting the chemistry better every week. It's a big win, so we just have to build on it."
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