2008: Andre Johnson Gains 207 Yards as Texans Edge Titans

The Houston Texans were coming off three straight wins and, while not in playoff contention, looking to achieve the first winning season in franchise history as they hosted the Tennessee Titans on December 14, 2008. In their third season under Head Coach Gary Kubiak, the Texans had a productive offense directed by QB Matt Schaub (when healthy), who had an outstanding target in WR Andre Johnson (pictured at right), plus rookie RB Steve Slaton to bolster the ground game. The defense, however, was less proficient and streaky Houston had a 6-7 record.

The Titans, coached by Jeff Fisher, were 12-1 and had already clinched the AFC South, but were still looking to gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Third-year QB Vince Young had been benched in favor of veteran Kerry Collins, to good effect, and rookie RB Chris Johnson was exceeding expectations. The defensive line was anchored by star DT Albert Haynesworth and there were other fine players in LB Keith Bulluck, CB Cortland Finnegan, SS Chris Hope, and FS Michael Griffin. Rob Bironas also provided reliable placekicking.

There were 70,831 fans present at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. The Titans had the first possession and moved into Houston territory largely on the strength of Chris Johnson’s running as he gained 29 yards on three carries. But after reaching the 37, Kerry Collins threw a long pass that was intercepted by CB Fred Bennett in the end zone and returned 23 yards. However, after Matt Schaub passed to Andre Johnson for 15 yards, he fumbled while being sacked by DE Jevon Kearse and Albert Haynesworth recovered at the Houston 32. Six plays later, Rob Bironas (pictured below) kicked a 26-yard field goal.

The Texans responded by putting together a long, 16-play drive that covered 70 yards. Schaub connected with Johnson for 22 yards on a third-and-ten play and followed right up with another pass to Johnson that gained 14 yards. A roughing-the-passer penalty helped Houston out of a third-and-23 jam and Steve Slaton had a 19-yard run along the way. Finally, on the first play of the second quarter, Kris Brown kicked a 32-yard field goal to tie the score.

The Titans went three-and-out on their next series, and after the ensuing punt had the Texans starting at their own 11, Schaub went long for Johnson down the middle for a 65-yard gain to the Tennessee 24. After three running plays, Schaub went to Johnson again and the result was a 13-yard touchdown. Brown added the extra point and Houston was ahead by 10-3.

The teams traded punts before the Titans reached midfield and Collins threw to WR Justin McCareins for 17 yards, only to have the receiver fumble and DE Tim Bulman recover for the Texans at their 31. The clubs returned to exchanging punts until, with 39 seconds remaining in the half, the Titans took over the ball at their own two and quickly moved 93 yards in four plays. The biggest was a pass from Collins to WR Brandon Jones for 40 yards and that was followed by a 36-yard gain on a pass interference penalty. Bironas kicked a 23-yard field goal and the score was 10-6 at halftime.

Following a short possession to start the third quarter, the Texans punted and Tennessee drove 30 yards in nine plays. Collins completed two passes, both to TE Bo Scaife, and RB LenDale White ran three times for 18 yards. Bironas kicked his third field goal, this time from 51 yards, and Houston’s lead was down to one point.

That was the way it stayed for the remainder of the period. A long series by the Texans reached the Tennessee seven, but it was all for naught when Brown missed a 26-yard field goal attempt. As the game headed into the fourth quarter, the Titans had the ball deep in their own territory and had to punt. An apparent 23-yard return by WR Jacoby Jones was wiped out by an illegal block and the Texans had to start at their 36. But a pass interference penalty got them to midfield and back-to-back pass completions to TE Owen Daniels – the second of which was good for 19 yards in a third-and-five situation – got them to the Tennessee 12. Once again they tried for a field goal, and this time Brown was successful from 24 yards to give the home team a 13-9 lead.

The Titans reached the Houston 48 on the next series and punted. The Texans had a short series that also resulted in a punt, with Matt Turk booming it 57 yards but DB Chris Carr returning it 17 yards to the Tennessee 39. Collins immediately went long and WR Justin Gage caught it for a 28-yard gain to the Houston 33. Chris Johnson ran for 13 yards but the drive finally stalled at the 16 and Bironas was once again called on to kick a field goal, which was successful from 34 yards.

Schaub threw to Andre Johnson for 40 yards on a series that reached the Tennessee 41 and resulted in a punt. The Titans came right back with a big pass play of their own as Collins connected with Gage for 34 yards, but facing fourth-and-three at the Houston 32, Tennessee passed up a long field goal attempt and came up empty when Collins tossed an incomplete pass.

That came with just under two minutes remaining to play, and proved to be Tennessee’s last shot. The Titans used all three of their timeouts on the next series, but a 12-yard carry by Slaton gave the Texans a game-clinching first down as they were able to run out the clock. Houston was the winner by a final score of 13-12.

The Texans had the edge in total yards (375 to 281) and first downs (22 to 14). However, they hurt themselves with 11 penalties at a cost of 127 yards, as opposed to 7 flags thrown on Tennessee totaling 64 yards. Houston also gave up three sacks while not getting to Kerry Collins at all. The Titans turned the ball over twice, to one suffered by the Texans.

Andre Johnson, who was largely shut down by the Titans when the two teams met earlier in the season, had a huge performance with 11 catches for 207 yards and the game’s only touchdown. Matt Schaub completed 23 of 39 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown with none intercepted. Steve Slaton (pictured below) ran for an even 100 yards on 24 carries.

For the Titans, Kerry Collins was successful on 15 of 33 throws for 181 yards and no TDs with one intercepted. Chris Johnson rushed for 65 yards on 13 attempts. Justin Gage caught three passes for 76 yards. Rob Bironas was the scoring star as he was successful on all four of his field goal attempts – but one that he didn’t get to try on Tennessee’s last possession might have made the difference in the outcome.

The Texans lost the next week but won their season finale to finish at 8-8 for the second straight year, again missing out on a winning record and placing third in the AFC South. They would finally finish over .500 for the first time in 2009. Tennessee split its last two games but ended up with the conference’s best record at 13-3. The season ended in disappointment with a loss to the Ravens in the Divisional round of the postseason.

Andre Johnson, in his sixth year, led the NFL with 115 catches and 1575 receiving yards. He averaged 13.7 yards per catch and scored eight touchdowns. It all resulted in his receiving consensus first-team All-NFL recognition as well as selection to the Pro Bowl for the third time. His 207 receiving yards against the Titans set a franchise record that he broke in 2012.  

2008: Schaub Passes for 414 Yards as Texans Beat Packers

The Houston Texans had reached the .500 mark for the first time in 2007, but were having difficulty progressing in 2008. After ten games, they were 3-7, but by the time they faced the Packers at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field on December 7, they were riding a two-game winning streak and stood at 5-7.

While Head Coach Gary Kubiak’s team had some good performers on defense, most notably DE Mario Williams and LB DeMeco Ryans, overall the unit was inconsistent. Offensively, QB Matt Schaub (pictured above) had been plagued by a knee injury and missed the four games leading up to the contest in Green Bay. Backup Sage Rosenfels had been effective in relief, but was prone to turning the ball over. With star WR Andre Johnson and productive RB Steve Slaton, the team was capable of making big plays, but had not been able to do so with regularity.


The Packers, under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, were in transition entering the season. For the first time since 1992, going back some 253 games, Brett Favre was not the starting quarterback. His departure to the New York Jets had been accompanied by plenty of offseason dramatics. Fourth-year QB Aaron Rodgers (pictured at right) was now running the offense, and while he was playing as well as could be hoped, the club, which had gone 13-3 in 2007 and advanced to the NFC Championship game, was struggling at 5-7 as it prepared to host the Texans and had lost four of the last five games.

Schaub was wearing a knee brace and the temperature at game time was just three degrees, making it the coldest contest in the franchise’s brief history to date. Neither the quarterback nor the team appeared to be hindered, however, as Schaub’s second pass went for a 58-yard touchdown to WR Kevin Walter.

The Packers didn’t complete a pass until their second possession, and both teams traded punts for the remainder of the opening period. The second quarter opened with Houston at the Green Bay 30, however, and it looked likely that the visitors would score when Schaub tossed a pass to Johnson that was good for a 19-yard gain to the 11. But TE Owen Daniels, after making a catch at the one, fumbled and CB Tramon Williams recovered for Green Bay at the three.

The Packers drove into Houston territory but, after DE Tim Bulman sacked Rodgers for a seven-yard loss on a third down play, once again had to punt. However, Schaub was intercepted by Williams at the Texans’ 28 and two plays later Green Bay tied the score as Rodgers connected with TE Donald Lee for a 20-yard TD with just over five minutes remaining in the half.

Schaub made up for the pickoff on Houston’s next play when he threw a pass to Walter for a 46-yard gain to the Green Bay 25. The drive finally stalled at the 11 and Kris Brown kicked a 30-yard field goal to put the Texans back in the lead. After an apparent 99-yard kickoff return by CB Will Blackmon was nullified by a holding penalty, Houston CB Dunta Robinson intercepted a Rodgers pass on the ensuing series, but the Texans were unable to add to their lead when Brown was wide on a 41-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the half. Houston led by 10-7 at halftime.

The Packers went three-and-out to start the third quarter and the Texans, helped by a 21-yard gain on a pass from Schaub to FB Vonta Leach, scored on a 41-yard field goal by Brown.

Following a short Green Bay possession, the Texans got the ball back on a punt and it appeared that they would have to punt again in turn, facing a fourth-and-six situation at their own 35. But veteran punter Matt Turk stunned both the Packers and his own team by taking off for an 18-yard gain and a first down. However, after driving to the Green Bay 16, Slaton fumbled and the Packers took over at their 21. On the last play of the third quarter, Rodgers passed to WR Greg Jennings for a 63-yard gain to the Houston six yard line. RB Ryan Grant ran the remaining six yards for a touchdown to start the final period, and with the successful PAT, the Packers took the lead at 14-13.

The Texans came back on a drive in which Schaub completed five passes for 55 yards, the last of which was for an 11-yard touchdown to Johnson. Following up with another pass to Johnson for a successful two-point conversion, Houston was now back in front at 21-14.

It appeared that the defense had successfully held the Packers after a short possession in which they only advanced to their own 18, but the ensuing punt was muffed by WR Jacoby Jones and recovered by long snapper Brett Goode for Green Bay. Back in possession of the ball at their own 49, the Packers took full advantage and seven plays later Rodgers threw a nine-yard scoring pass to WR Jordy Nelson. With the successful kick for the extra point, the game was tied at 21-21 with just under six minutes to play.

The Texans failed to advance on their next possession and punted. Rodgers passed to WR Donald Driver for a 59-yard gain to the Houston 25, but a holding call and sack backed the Packers to the 38 and out of field goal range. Punter Jeremy Kapinos pinned Houston down with a 35-yard kick to the three yard line.

Now with 1:49 remaining on the clock, Schaub proceeded to move the Texans downfield, completing passes to Leach for 22 yards, WR David Anderson for 17 yards, and Daniels for 27. After Slaton ran three yards to get the ball down to the Green Bay 22, Brown kicked a 40-yard field goal on the game’s final play to give Houston a 24-21 win.

The Texans accumulated a team-record 549 total yards, to 387 for the Packers, and had 25 first downs to Green Bay’s 16, although they were nearly undone by giving up four turnovers. But the Packers converted only one of 10 third downs, while Houston succeeded on 7 of 13 third down plays (and their one fourth down play).

Matt Schaub, showing no ill effects from the time off, threw for 414 yards as he completed 28 of 42 passes with two touchdowns and one intercepted. Kevin Walter (pictured below) caught 6 of those passes for 146 yards and a TD and Owen Daniels contributed another 65 yards on his 6 receptions. Steve Slaton ran for 120 yards on 26 carries.



Aaron Rodgers was successful on 19 of 30 passes for 295 yards with two TDs and an interception. Ryan Grant also reached the hundred-yard threshold with 104 on 19 attempts that included a touchdown. Donald Driver caught three passes for 75 yards.

There was much rejoicing by the Texans over what was considered one of the greatest wins in franchise history.

“Our group had every reason at some point to fold with the turnovers hurting us,” said Coach Kubiak. “But this group is made of a lot of character and it's as good a win as I've ever been around.”

Houston went on to win two of its last three contests (as part of five of the final six) to again finish at 8-8 and third in the AFC South. Green Bay lost the next two games before winning the season finale to end up at 6-10 for third place in the NFC North.

While Matt Schaub’s overall statistics of 3043 yards passing with 15 touchdowns (against 10 interceptions) were held down due to losing five games to injury, his 8.0 yards per attempt ranked second in the NFL (tied with Drew Brees of the Saints) and 276.6 yards per game ranked fourth. Schaub also ranked fourth in completion percentage (66.1) and seventh in overall passing (92.7 rating).

Andre Johnson led the NFL in both pass receptions (115) and receiving yards (1575). Kevin Walter added 60 catches for 899 yards (15.0 avg.) and eight TDs.


Rookie Steve Slaton (pictured at left) ran for 1282 yards on 268 carries for a 4.8-yard average and nine touchdowns. With 50 catches for 377 more yards, he garnered 1659 yards from scrimmage. However, the production dropped off significantly the following year.

Aaron Rodgers finished just ahead of Schaub with a 93.8 passer rating. While the team slumped, the new starting quarterback drew good reviews as he placed fourth in passing yards (4038), TD passes (28), and percentage of TD passes (5.2).