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 Cleveland 34 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Houston Texans: This week the two newest expansion teams in the league battled in Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Texans fell apart in the fourth quarter for the second week in a row. QB David Carr had another good game. He did however, fumble the ball late in the 4th quarter deep in his own territory to seal the victory for the Browns. Carr and the Texans completely dominated the 1st half of the game. The score was tied at the half but the yards heavily favored Houston as they controlled the game and seemed on pace for their second win of the year. Jonathan Wells got the start at RB but was out rushed by James Allen in the game. TE Billy Miller led the Texans in receiving but Corey Bradford could have been the man if not for 2 dropped passes and one overthrown pass by Carr. The overthrown pass and one of the drops could have been touchdowns. Cleveland Browns: The Browns snapped a three game losing streak in their new/old Orange jerseys. The Cleveland faithful booed a lot of the play calling and play execution in the 1st half of the game. They were not happy with their Browns getting man-handled by the expansion team. The second half was a different story though. Tim Couch kept the boos at bay by throwing a 25 yard TD to Quincy Morgan in the 3rd quarter. Couch also laid a nice block on 2 defenders, springing Jamel White for a 36 yard gain. The Browns offense didn't commit any turnovers in the game. However, it was the special teams and defense that was the difference. Andre Davis returned a kickoff 95 yards, following a Houston touchdown drive. This proved to be a big momentum swing in the game as the Texans only held the lead for 13 seconds. The defense had gone 13 quarters without a sack, but recorded 9 sacks on rookie David Carr. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Houston Texans QB: David Carr keeps getting better every game. He threw 2 perfect passes to lead the Texans down the field for a TD. The drive was only 4 plays but went for 62 yards. Carr completed 3 consecutive passes, ending with a 37 yard touchdown strike to Corey Bradford. Carr would have had an even better day if his WRs could catch the ball. He did overthrow a wide open Bradford that would have surely been an 80 yard touchdown. David Carr needs more air under the ball when the WR gets behind the coverage. He did have a very productive day; 22/36 267 and a TD. He didn't have any interceptions for the second straight week. He did have a fumble as Mark Word sacked him in the 4th quarter. Even though Carr only had 2 rushing attempts, he had to scramble to avoid the pressure many times in the game. He was sacked 9 times. RB: Jonathan Wells got the start and the majority of the carries for the Texans. He was unsuccessful with 34 total yards, as the Browns keyed on shutting down the running game early. James Allen got most of his yards in the second half of the game. He had 99 total yards in the game on 9 touches. So much for Wells taking over and Allen falling out of the picture. Looks like we're looking at another week of shared carries. WR: Corey Bradford only had 2 catches in the game, but they were both for touchdowns and went for a combined 76 yards. Bradford got behind the coverage on two other patterns but he was overthrown on one and he dropped the other. Both of these passes could have gone for touchdowns. Bradford also had a late drop that could have set the Texans up for a comeback attempt. Jabbar Gaffney caught 4 passes for 42 yards. He was held for a pass interference call on a play that probably would have been complete for a long touchdown. Gaffney was also involved on a trick play where he completed a 39 yard TD pass to Bradford. Avion Black made a couple key receptions late in the game. He finished with 4 catches for 31 yards. JuJuan Dawson had 1 catch against his former team. It was good for 25 yards. Dawson made a 35 yard catch that was called back when Carr stepped over the line of scrimmage before releasing the ball. TE: Billy Miller led the team in receptions with 6 for 78 yards. Miller did have a dropped pass but made a nice catch on a ball that went though the defenders hands on the very next play. Texans Rush Defense - The Texans rush defense held the Browns to 89 net yards rushing. But the Browns aren't known for being a rushing team. They did allow both of the Cleveland RBs to score touchdowns though. Texans Pass Defense - They only allowed the Browns aerial attack one touchdown and held Tim Couch to 148 yards passing and only sacked him once. The defense wasn't able to create any turnovers in the game. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Cleveland Browns QB: Tim Couch played in front of a sometimes hostile home crowd and didn't throw an interception for the first time in 13 games. The crowd seemed to boo the play calling more than Couch. After his touchdown completion Couch tried to jump into the stands with the crowd that booed him and cheered his injury in the last home game. Couch finished the game 21/31`for 148 yards and no turnovers. Couch overthrew Jamel White twice streaking down the sidelines. RB: William Green is still getting opportunities to run the ball. He did seem to look less hesitant although his numbers are still ugly with 24 yards on 12 carries. He did have a fumble on the goal line that should have been Texans ball. The play was blown dead and could not be challenged. Green punched it in on the next play for his first touchdown of the year. Jamel White - got the same amount of carries as Green but did more with them (12 for 65 yards), thanks to a 36 yard scamper. White also added 5 receptions for 99 total yards and a touchdown on the ground. James Jackson had one reception but no carries in the game. It came very late in the 4th quarter. WR: Quincy Morgan was the hot WR this week for the Browns. His 7 catches for 81 yards led the team. His touchdown catch was also his longest reception of the day, 25 yards. Kevin Johnson used to be the main guy for the Browns. Now he seems lost in the shuffle every week. This week he was able to finish second on the team with 4 catches for 22 yards. His long reception was just 8 yards. Dennis Northcutt may have only had 3 receptions for 6 yards but one of the catches came on a big 4th and 4 in the 3rd quarter with the game tied. The next play was the TD pass to Morgan. Andre Davis recorded only one catch in the game although Couch came out firing at Davis. He was the target of the first 2 plays from scrimmage for the Browns. Both passes were incomplete. Davis did however, return a kick-off 95 yards for the touchdown. This came directly after the Texans got the lead with the Gaffney to Bradford TD. The return really took the momentum from the Texans as they only held the lead for 13 seconds. TE: Aaron Shea had a 21 yard reception called back for a chop block on William Green in the 1st quarter. The block was actually legal as it was a double teamed block. No TEs recorded any catches in the game for Cleveland. Cleveland's Rush Defense - They did a solid job of keeping Wells and Allen in check. Allen was able to rip off a 32 yard gallop on them to boost his average. Cleveland's Pass Defense - 9 sacks on David Carr is good for any defense. They allowed 2 touchdowns via the pass though. Mark Word came into the game for Courtney Brown and made plays. He caused Carr's fumble inside the Texans 5 yard line to set up the game winning touchdown. Cleveland's Special Teams - Andre Davis 95 yard kick-off return was something special. The timing of the return changed the momentum of the game for good. Also the punt coverage recovered a Jermaine Lewis fumble in the 1st quarter that set up the William Green touchdown.