Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Houston 17 at Philadelphia 35 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Houston Texans: WR Corey Bradford supplied most of the offense. He grabbed 7 passes for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is the best effort that any receiver has produced against Philadelphia's stingy secondary this year. RB James Allen got most of the carries early on, but was ineffective. Jonathon Wells looked stronger on the eight carries for 33 yards, which he got towards the end of the game. The Texans defense played a strong game. They picked up two fumbles inside Eagle territory and intercepted a pass. The offense failed to score on any of these turnovers. If a couple of plays go their way, the Texans might have shocked the Eagles with a much closer game. Philadelphia Eagles: Compared to his last two games, QB Donovan McNabb had an "average" day. He threw for 259 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and ran for 23. He spread the ball very well, connecting with 9 different receivers. He had to spend most of the day fighting off constant pressure. RB Duce Staley was used as the primary back. He only gained 33 yards on 12 carries, but found the end zone on two goal line carries. Safety Brian Dawkins was everywhere. He became the first player in NFL history to catch a touchdown pass, grab an interception, sack the quarterback, and recover a fumble in one game. The 57 yard touchdown reception came during a punt formation trick play that saw Brian Mitchell toss him the ball. The Eagles have outscored their last 3 opponents by 79 points. They have also scored points in all but two quarters this year (their 2nd half collapse to the Titans in the first game of the year). WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Houston Texans QB: David Carr was actually impressive today. It was his most confident outing yet. He completed 16 passes to four different receivers for 188 yards. That's not bad considering who the receivers are and the secondary they were going up against. Cory Bradford was his primary target. They connected for two touchdowns against Troy Vincent. Carr made some rookie mistakes, fumbling the ball twice, and throwing 2 interceptions. One of them was to Bobby Taylor in the end zone. RB: James Allen started the game. He had 14 carries for 41 yards and 2 receptions for 20 yards. With numbers like these, he's just asking for Jonathan Wells to get the start. Jonathan Wells was the stronger back once again. He got most of his carries at the end of the game. He is just too good to be the back up to James Allen. WR: Corey Bradford had a phenomenal game against one of the best defensive backs in the game. He gained 97 yards on 7 receptions and found himself in the end zone twice. With a performance like that, Carr is going to have a lot more confidence in his receiver the rest of the year. Jabar Gaffney had a solid outing with 5 receptions for 49 yards. TE: Billy Miller had 2 receptions for 22 yards. The Texans might want to consider using their Tight Ends in future games. They were non-existent today. Houston Pass Defense - Donovan McNabb was under constant pressure all day. They held most of the Eagles receivers from have huge days. The problem was that there were too many Eagle receivers to keep tabs on. Eric Brown intercepted a pass. Houston Rush Defense - They held Philadelphia to 102 yards on the ground. While this look okay on paper, you have to realize that Philly is a pass first offense. The Eagles ran the ball 29 times compared to 44 throwing attempts. Houston Special Teams - Kris Brown hit his only field goal for 48 yards and both of his extra points. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Philadelphia Eagles QB: While Donovan McNabb had a strong showing, it wasn't as great as his last two performances. He was under constant pressure early on and got knocked around a lot. He completed 24 passes to nine different receivers for 259 yards and a touchdown. WR Todd Pinkston and TE Chad Lewis were his favorite targets. RB: Duce Staley took most of the carries today. He ended up with 12 carries for 33 yards. While these numbers aren't very impressive, he did get his first rushing touchdowns of the year on two 1-yard goal line carries in the second quarter. Brian Westbrook was used as change of pace back getting 4 carries for 7 yards. It was his least impressive performance. Dorsey Levens actually looked the strongest today. Unfortunately he only got 5 carries for 20 yards and 2 receptions for 15 yards. Philadelphia's offense has too many weapons, and Levens isn't being utilized as much as he should be. WR: Todd Pinkston was McNabb's primary target. He pulled in 6 receptions for 70 yards. He's the most improved player on this offense so far this year. He's going up and making the tough catches. You can see McNabb's confidence growing on Pinkston with each passing game. James Thrash had 2 receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown put the game out of reach for the Texans. It was a routine reception at the Houston 30. Thrash reversed the field to the left, turned on the burners, and simply beat several Texas defenders to the end zone. Thrash almost scored on a 7 yard reception where he was stopped at the 1. Antonio Freeman was surprisingly quiet after last week's outburst. He only caught one ball for 14 yards. TE: Chad Lewis had five receptions for 31 yards. He continually missed easy passes and could have had a huge day. McNabb did not seem to lose faith in him though. Philadelphia Pass Defense - Held Carr to 188 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Carr was sacked 7 times. Troy Vincent was beat on both Bradford touchdowns. It was an unusual day for him. Brian Dawkins was everywhere. He grabbed an interception, picked up a fumble, and sacked Carr. He may have had the most dominating performance of his career Philadelphia Rush Defense - Very tough. Held the Texans to 91 yards and no touchdowns. The longest run of the day was for 9 yards. Philadelphia Special Teams - There were no balls returned on them today, which is a plus. David Akers was perfect with 2 field goals (25,41) and 3 extra points. The most exciting play of the game came on a trick play during a fake punt formation. On 4th and 7 Brian Mitchell received the direct snap. He ran to the left and tossed the ball up to Brian Dawkins who was just a couple yards ahead of him. Dawkins raced 57 yards into the end zone for his first touchdown reception of his career. You never know what is going to happen when the Special teams is on the field.