The Houston Texans were 2-2 as they faced the Miami Dolphins
at Reliant Stadium on October 7, 2007, having won their first two games of the season
but then lost the next two. In their second year under Head Coach Gary Kubiak,
the club had made changes, most notably acquiring QB Matt Schaub from Atlanta and 30-year-old ex-Packer
RB Ahman Green. Schaub started off well, especially in combination with WR
Andre Johnson in the first two winning contests, but when Johnson went down
with a knee injury and Green was also slowed by injury, the Texans ran into
trouble.
The Dolphins, coached by Cam Cameron following the departure
of Nick Saban for Alabama ,
had lost all four of their games to date. They had also brought in a new
quarterback in the offseason, ex-Chief Trent
Green, who beat out Cleo Lemon for the starting job in the preseason. While second-year
RB Ronnie Brown was a bright spot, there were few others.
The Texans had the first possession of the game and
proceeded to drive 78 yards in 11 plays. Schaub misfired on his first two
passes but then converted a third-and-ten situation with a completion to WR
Kevin Walter for 16 yards. A personal foul penalty on Miami DE Jason Taylor
turned a second-and-17 play into a first down along the way. Schaub connected
with WR Andre’ Davis for 49 yards to the Miami two and while it took four straight handoffs to RB
Ron Dayne to finally score, Houston
had the early lead.
The Dolphins responded with a scoring series of their own
after rookie WR Ted Ginn Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards. Green
scrambled around end for a 23-yard gain to highlight a 46-yard drive that ended
with a 23-yard Jay Feely field goal to narrow Houston ’s margin to 7-3.
Cleo Lemon came into the game at quarterback and the
Dolphins drove to a three-yard touchdown run by Ronnie Brown. With the
successful extra point, they were ahead at the end of the first quarter by a
score of 10-7.
Early in the second quarter, and following a punt by the
Texans, Miami
scored again. Brown started the series with a 22-yard run and it was followed
by a Lemon pass to Ginn that covered 36 yards. The Dolphins made it to the Houston 22 from where
Feely booted a 40-yard field goal to make it 13-7.
The Dolphins got the ball back again in good field position
when Schaub fumbled while being sacked by Taylor and DE Rodrique White
recovered at the Houston 41. Seven plays and 26 yards later, Miami added to its lead as Feely was
successful on a 33-yard field goal.
With time running down in the first half, the Texans put
together an eight-play scoring drive. Schaub completed passes of 16 yards to Davis and 20 yards to RB Samkon Gado and, after the series
stalled at the Miami
36, Kris Brown (pictured at top) boomed a 56-yard field goal to make it 16-10 at the half.
On Miami ’s second play of the
third quarter, FS C.C. Brown intercepted a pass by Lemon to give Houston good field position at the Miami 46. Seven plays later Brown kicked a
43-yard field goal to pull the Texans to three points behind. Following a punt
by the Dolphins, Houston
again drove to a long field goal attempt by Brown from 54 yards. It was
successful to tie the contest at 16-16.
The Dolphins took over possession with 5:25 left on the
clock and short passes by Lemon got the ball into Houston territory. But after reaching the 38
yard line by the two minute warning, Lemon threw two incomplete passes and Miami punted. The 35-yard
kick had the Texans starting their next series at the three.
On second down, Schaub passed to Daniels for a 19-yard gain
to get out of the hole. Two plays later he hit Daniels again for 14 yards and
then WR David Anderson for 19 yards to the Miami 44. The Texans having taken their
second timeout, Schaub passed to Walter for six yards and then spiked the ball
at the 38. The clock ran down to one second before Houston took its final timeout and Brown came
through with a 57-yard field goal to give the Texans a 22-19 win.
Kris Brown kicked five field goals in as many attempts, with
a record three of them coming from 54 yards or longer, including the
game-winner. All of that came after he had injured his foot on the opening
kickoff. Matt Schaub completed 20 of 34 passes for 294 yards but with no
touchdowns and one intercepted. Owen Daniels caught 6 passes for 96 yards while
Andre’ Davis
contributed 79 yards on his 4 receptions and Kevin Walter added 5 catches for
67 yards. Ron Dayne rushed for 40 yards and a TD on 16 carries.
For the Dolphins, Ronnie Brown was the offensive star with
23 rushes for 114 yards and a TD and a further 39 yards on 5 pass receptions.
After replacing Trent Green, Cleo Lemon was successful on 15 of 27 throws for
151 yards and had one intercepted. WR Marty Booker was the top receiver with 45
yards on 5 catches. Jay Feely, overshadowed by Kris Brown, nevertheless had a
good day as he booted four field goals in four attempts. Ted Ginn Jr., (pictured below) who
caught one pass for 36 yards, also averaged 35.2 yards on his five kickoff
returns.
The Texans lost their next three games but ultimately ended
up at 8-8 for the first non-losing season in franchise history. It still placed
them last in the highly-competitive AFC South (all three teams ahead of them
went to the playoffs). Miami
suffered through a dreadful 1-15 campaign, not pulling out a win until its
fourteenth game.
Kris Brown was successful on 25 of 29 field goal attempts
(86.2 %), including all five from over 50 yards. Injuries hindered Matt Schaub,
who appeared in 11 games and passed for 2241 yards with 9 touchdowns as well as
9 interceptions.
Trent Green, who had missed half of the ’06 season after
suffering a concussion in the opening game, never played again for the Dolphins
in 2007, although he did play as a backup for the Rams in 2008, his last
season. Ronnie Brown, who played so well for a poor team, went down with a
season-ending injury in the seventh game. He rushed for 602 yards on 119
carries (5.1 avg.) and caught 39 passes for 389 yards.
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