1:00 PM ET, November 16,2014
FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, OH
FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, OH
Top Performers
Passing: B. Hoyer (CLE) - 330 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INTRushing: A. Blue (HOU) - 36 CAR, 156 YDS
Receiving: A. Hawkins (CLE) - 6 REC, 97 YDS, 1 TD
Associated Press
Texans Cruise Past Browns
They became close Sunday. Too close for Hoyer.
Watt nearly beat Cleveland himself, catching a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Mallett, dominating on defense and leading the Houston Texans to a 23-7 win over the Browns on Sunday.
More from ESPN.com
After
waiting four seasons, the Houston Texans' Ryan Mallett shined in his
first NFL start -- a win over the Cleveland Browns, writes Tania
Ganguli. Story
The
Browns were handled on the interior on both sides of the ball,
including by J.J. Watt, and it led to a long day for Brian Hoyer, Pat
McManamon writes. Story
A
loss to Houston shouldn't be soul-crushing for Cleveland, but the
depths of this loss was a little unsettling for a team with playoff
aspirations, Jeremy Fowler writes. Story"It was a productive day," he said, nonchalantly.
Browns coach Mike Pettine couldn't say enough about Watt.
"He's a special player," he said. "You run to him. You run away from him. You try to do different things. He's an excellent player."
Mallett threw a pair of TD passes and finished with 211 yards in his first career start. The four-year veteran was promoted during the bye week after the Texans (5-5) benched Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Mallett delivered a needed spark.
So did rookie running back Alfred Blue. He filled in for injured star Arian Foster (groin) and gained 156 yards on a franchise-record 36 carries.
"It feels good," said Mallett, a former third-round pick in 2011 who spent three seasons backing up Tom Brady in New England. "It made the four years worth it."
The Browns (6-4) won't spend a second straight week atop the AFC North. They lost for just the second time in seven games, and Watt is the main reason why.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder scored Houston's first TD, grabbing Mallett's first career scoring pass for his fourth TD in 2014. He's the first defensive lineman to score four times in a season since 1948. He wasn't perfect, getting called for two roughing-the-punter penalties, but Watt more than made up for his mistakes by wreaking havoc along Cleveland's offensive front.
Watt wasn't aware that it's been 66 years since a defensive lineman scored four TDs.
"That's pretty cool," he said. "That's a long time ago. There's a lot of season left, so hopefully that's not the end of it."
Randy Bullock kicked field goals of 46, 37 and 50 yards for the Texans.
Mallett finished 20 of 30 and outdueled Hoyer in a battle of former Brady backups.
Hoyer spent the afternoon ducking and dodging Houston's relentless defensive front led by Watt. Linebacker Brian Cushing delivered a monstrous hit in the fourth quarter on Hoyer, who struggled to get up, dropped to his knees and barely composed himself as backup Johnny Manziel scrambled for his helmet.
"It's disappointing," said Hoyer, who completed just 20 of 50 passes with a TD. "We had a great opportunity and we let it slip through our hands. We're not there yet."
Browns running back Ben Tate had just two carries for minus-9 yards against his former team.
As expected, Watt made his presence felt. The surprising part was that it was on both sides of the ball.
In the first quarter, Mallett hooked up with DeAndre Hopkins on a 41-yard completion -- the longest play on an 89-yard drive -- to move the ball to the Cleveland 2.
On first-and-goal, Watt lined up as Houston's left tight end before shifting to wide receiver. Mallett then lofted the ball to the agile Watt, who caught it over rookie linebacker Christian Kirksey and was able to get his knee down inbounds for the score.
"I was telling the offensive linemen, there's nothing better that scoring a touchdown and the whole offense runs over to congratulate you," Watt said. "It's such a cool feeling. I really, really enjoyed today. It was a blast."
Mallett's 20-yard TD pass to tight end Garrett Graham gave the Texans a 14-7 lead and capped a first half in which Watt had an impact on offense, defense and special teams.
After he caught his second TD pass this season, Watt sacked and knocked the ball away from Hoyer and later recovered a fumble caused by Cushing that led to Houston's go-ahead score.
With the Browns driving late in the second quarter, Cushing, who missed the previous two games with a knee injury, poked the ball away from Cleveland rookie running back Isaiah Crowell. Watt, who had been pacing the sideline after his second roughing penalty, pounced on the fumble.
"99's the man," safety D.J. Swearinger said.
Game notes
The previous defensive linemen to score four TDs in a season were Ray Poole (Giants) and Jack Zilly (Rams). ... Blue's 156 yards tied the rookie franchise record set previously by Steve Slaton (2008). ... Browns LB Karlos Dansby (knee) will undergo an MRI on Monday. The Browns also lost LB Jabaal Sheard (foot). ... The Browns play their next two on the road and four of their last six outside Cleveland.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Photo Wire
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 16: Ryan Mallett #15 talks with Andre Johnson #80 of the Houston Texans during warm ups...
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Team Stat Comparison
HOU
|
CLE
| |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 29 | 24 |
Passing 1st downs
| 12 | 18 |
Rushing 1st downs
| 13 | 4 |
1st downs from penalties
| 4 | 2 |
3rd down efficiency
| 7-18 | 3-15 |
4th down efficiency
| 1-1 | 0-2 |
| Total Plays | 84 | 76 |
| Total Yards | 424 | 375 |
| Yards per play | 5.0 | 4.9 |
| Total Drives | 13 | 13 |
| Passing | 211 | 317 |
Comp-Att
| 20-30 | 20-50 |
Yards per pass
| 7.0 | 6.1 |
Interceptions thrown
| 1 | 1 |
Sacks-Yards Lost
| 0-0 | 2-13 |
| Rushing | 213 | 58 |
Rushing Attempts
| 54 | 24 |
Yards per rush
| 3.9 | 2.4 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 1-2 | 0-2 |
| Penalties | 5-55 | 8-67 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
Fumbles lost
| 0 | 1 |
Interceptions thrown
| 1 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 33:53 | 26:07 |
Scoring Summary
| FIRST QUARTER | HOU | CLE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | TD | 7:09 | J.J. Watt 2 Yd pass from Ryan Mallett (Randy Bullock Kick)
Drive info: 12 plays, 89 yds, 4:47
| 7 | 0 |
| SECOND QUARTER | HOU | CLE | |||
 | TD | 8:58 | Andrew Hawkins 32 Yd pass from Brian Hoyer (Billy Cundiff Kick)
Drive info: 7 plays, 62 yds, 2:38
| 7 | 7 |
| TD | 0:23 | Garrett Graham 20 Yd pass from Ryan Mallett (Randy Bullock Kick)
Drive info: 9 plays, 78 yds, 2:43
| 14 | 7 |
| THIRD QUARTER | HOU | CLE | |||
| FG | 5:16 | Randy Bullock 46 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 10 plays, 60 yds, 2:40
| 17 | 7 |
| FOURTH QUARTER | HOU | CLE | |||
| FG | 9:47 | Randy Bullock 37 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 13 plays, 38 yds, 5:28
| 20 | 7 |
| FG | 2:47 | Randy Bullock 50 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 6 plays, 40 yds, 1:14
| 23 | 7 |
Research Notes
J.J. Watt
had a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 3 tackles for loss
Sunday. He also scored his 2nd receiving TD of the season, which is 1
more than teammate Andre Johnson.
Watt was part of a pass rush that pressured (sack or duress) Brian Hoyer 15 times Sunday, the 2nd-most pressures he's faced in a game this season. Hoyer was just 3-of-13 passing when under duress.
[+] |
Ryan Mallett was 20-of-30 for 211 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception Sunday, his 1st-career start. Mallett replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had only 1 game in 9 starts this season with 20+ completions, 200+ pass yards and 2+ touchdowns (Week 7 vs Steelers).
|
Alfred Blue
had a career-high 36 rushes today vs the Browns, the most ever in a
game by a Texans player and the most by any player this year.
Blue's previous career high was 14 rushes, done in Week 8 this season.
[+] |
The
Texans have forced an NFL-best 21 turnovers this season. Last season,
they forced an NFL-worst 11 turnovers. They are the only team in the NFL
that has already forced more turnovers this year than they did last
year:
[+] |
J.J. Watt caught his 2nd touchdown pass of the season, more than teammate Andre Johnson (1).
Watt has as many or more red-zone receptions this year as Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green, Pierre Garcon, Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, Vincent Jackson, Victor Cruz, Jason Witten and Vernon Davis.
|
Brian Hoyer's
success in throwing the ball downfield is what's keeping him effective.
He's thrown 74 passes that have traveled at least 15 yards downfield
this season, tied for the 6th-most in the NFL. His completion percentage
on those throws is the BEST in the league:
[+] |
From
Elias: JJ Watt has 2 Rec TD, a defensive fumble recovery TD and a
interception return TD this season. According to Elias, one other player
had 2 receiving TD's, a defensive fumble recovery TD and a interception
return TD in a season: Jay Arnold in 1938 (Eagles)
|
J.J. Watt is the first defensive player to have 2 Rec TD in a single season since 2007 when Jared Allen and Mike Vrabel each had 2 in the regular season.
|
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