Texans handle Colts, clinch second division title in row

HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans now own the AFC South, and they have a message for the rest of the NFL:

Last week's debacle against New England was not the real Texans.

The real Texans, they claim, clinched the division for the second straight year with a 29-17 victory over Indianapolis.

"A lot of people were wondering how we were going to respond," Andre Johnson said. "I think a lot of people doubted us after what happened last week. We (felt) like we had to show people what we were really about."

They believe they did so against the Colts, a team that dominated the division for years before Houston's recent rise.

But Sunday's celebrations were more subdued than last year's. This time the Texans expected to win the division, and have much bigger goals ahead.

"It's awesome," J.J. Watt said. "But there's a lot more fun ahead, so I hope everybody is not celebrating too early."

Johnson gained 151 yards receiving and a touchdown, Bryan Braman had a special teams score on a blocked punt, and Shayne Graham kicked five field goals.

The Texans (12-2) grabbed their first AFC South title last season after the Colts nosedived without injured quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning is gone to Denver and rookie Andrew Luck couldn't do much against the inspired Houston defense.

The Colts (9-5) had won three straight games and needed a win to clinch a playoff berth a year after going 2-14 in 2011. Before that, they took the division seven times since Houston entered the league in 2002.

"It was a tough loss for us in that we came here with one idea and that was to win the division, and we're not going to win the division -- they did it," Indianapolis interim coach Bruce Arians said.

Thanks in great part to three sacks from Watt, Houston bounced back six days after the 42-14 loss to New England on national television. The Texans will have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs if they win out.

Luck threw for 186 yards with two touchdowns in the return to his hometown. He had led the Colts to a rookie-record six wins on drives in the fourth quarter or overtime this season, and he got the Colts within six points late in the third quarter.

"We came here to win, not put up a respectable showing," Luck said. "We'll move on to next week and hopefully get better."

Houston's defense shut Luck down after he made it close, and the Texans used Arian Foster to eat up the clock. Foster ran for a season-high 165 yards to leave him with 1,313 yards rushing, giving him his third straight year with at least 1,200.

"It's not really that we bounced back," Foster said. "It's that we played the football that we know we're capable of playing. We feel we're a team that if we play how we know we can ... it's going to be hard for us to get beat."

Watt increased his AFC-leading sack total to 19 1/2 -- the NFL record for a season is 22 1/2 -- and finished with 10 tackles. He also forced a fumble for the third straight game.

"I don't even know the stats," Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. "But it seemed like every time I looked up, he was making a play."

Luck was sacked five times playing behind a makeshift offensive line missing center Samson Satele (ankle) and right tackle Winston Justice (biceps).

Johnson, who has 11,008 yards receiving in his career, scored on a 3-yard reception to make it 10-0 in the first quarter. The Texans didn't score a touchdown on offense after that, but were helped by Braman's special teams effort.

Braman blocked his second punt of the season, recovered it and returned it 8 yards for his first career touchdown to make it 20-3 just before halftime.

Vick Ballard had 60 yards rushing on a Colts drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown reception by Dwayne Allen to cut Houston's lead to 23-17 in the third quarter. Ballard finished with a career-high 105 yards rushing.

Houston couldn't do anything on its next drive and punted. But Indy sputtered, and interim coach Bruce Arians even drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a punt, giving Houston the ball at the Colts 39.

Graham added a 46-yard field goal to push the lead to 26-17 and made his fifth field goal with about a minute left.

Rookie T.Y. Hilton and Luck connected on a 61-yard touchdown pass just before halftime.

Watt's forced fumble on Mewelde Moore on the Houston 1 was recovered by Tim Dobbins early in the second quarter, robbing the Colts of points. And the Colts stalled inside the red zone again and had to settle for Adam Vinatieri's 26-yard field goal to cut Houston's lead to 10-3.

The Texans had set the tone as they got to Luck early, sacking him twice on the Colts' second drive. Antonio Smith got to him first, and Watt put a move on backup tackle Jeff Linkenbach and took him down for a 15-yard loss.

On offense, Johnson was dominant. He put Houston up 10-0 when he waltzed into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown reception. Johnson kept things going earlier in the drive when he caught a pass, lost it and then grabbed it again just before it touched the ground for a 10-yard gain on third-and-9.

Notes Luck needs 74 yards to break Cam Newton's rookie yards passing record of 4,051 yards. Dobbins has recovered four fumbles this season, a franchise record. Braman's two blocked punts this season are a single-season franchise record.

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Brady shakes off bloody nose; Pats handle Titans

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 9, 2012

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tom Brady might have a broken nose, about the only damage inflicted by the Tennessee Titans against the New England Patriots who simply don't lose season openers.

Brady threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns, and the defending AFC champion Patriots routed the Titans 34-13 for their ninth straight season-opening win Sunday. It's the longest current streak in the league.

"I need some scars," Brady said, joking about the white bandage covering his nose and marring his usual look.

Titans defensive end Kamerion Wimbley hurt Brady in the second quarter when he got Tennessee's only sack of the game. Brady said that was the only good hit he took all day and complimented his revised offensive line featuring a new left tackle in Nate Solder, new center in Dan Connolly and right guard in Donald Thomas.

"It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but it's always fun to win," Brady said. "It's a good feeling."

The Patriots ruined Jake Locker's debut as Tennessee's starter, sacking him twice and forcing two turnovers. New England rookie Dont'a Hightower returned Locker's fumble 6 yards for a TD in his own debut, and Stevan Ridley ran for 125 yards and a TD.

New England even knocked Locker out of the game in the fourth quarter and held Chris Johnson to 4 yards on 11 carries.

"This is something that can be a backbone for us," Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. " To hold a great back to only 4 yards that was good defense."

Locker hurt his left shoulder tackling safety Patrick Chung on a fumble return officials should have whistled dead as an incomplete pass to Titans receiver Nate Washington, who also was hurt on the play. Matt Hasselbeck replaced Locker, who was kept on the sideline as a precaution.

The eighth pick overall in 2011 tried to talk his way back onto the field after being examined. Locker said he was sore but expects to play next week at San Diego. And he won't shy away from tackling in the future.

"I know I'm playing offense," Locker said. "I'm not going to let a guy run into the end zone."

The Titans weren't happy at the failure of the replacement officials on three different passes into the end zone they thought deserved flags for pass interference. Coach Mike Munchak said there always will be calls they believe are missed by officials.

The first came on the opening drive when Devin McCourty helped break up a pass to Damian Williams in the end zone. The second wound up an interception by Patriots rookie Tavon Wilson on a pass to Washington. The third came with Chung defending Jared Cook in the fourth quarter that left the Titans tight end pleading his case to an official.

Williams had an opinion on the lack of a flag, but refused to criticize the officials, who also needed replay to overturn the on-field ruling of an interception by McCourty in the third quarter that squirted out when he hit the ground.

The Titans even had former Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt on hand, not that she could help them stop or even slow Brady -- despite spending the offseason prepping for the teams' first meeting since being routed 59-0 in New England in October 2009.

Brady threw five TD passes in one quarter that day. He didn't match that Sunday, but didn't need to with Ridley providing plenty of help on the ground as the Patriots outgained Tennessee 390-284.

"They're going to make their share of plays, which we knew," Munchak said. "We just couldn't help them, and unfortunately along the way, we helped them."

The Titans couldn't match Brady's efficiency and had to settle twice for field goals of 28 and 24 yards by Rob Bironas. Locker did find Washington on a 29-yard TD in the third quarter even with Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones grabbing the quarterback.

Brady missed connecting with Brandon Lloyd for a would-be TD on the opening drive. That was among his few misses.

He put the Patriots up 7-3 with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez late in the first quarter, capping a 67-yard drive. It was Brady's 301st career pass, surpassing John Elway for fifth in TD passes in NFL history. It also marked his 33rd straight game with a TD pass. He found Rob Gronkowski on a 2-yard TD pass just before halftime for a 21-3 lead.

The Patriots' work boosting their defense through the draft showed early dividends. Jones sacked Locker and forced a fumble that Hightower ran in for a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

Notes

Patriots coach Bill Belichick got his 193rd career victory, tying him for eighth all-time with Chuck Knox. Brady became the 14th player with 40,000 yards passing in his career. He has 40,215 yards, just shy of Johnny Unitas (40,239) for 13th. Brady now has sole possession of fifth for career wins by a quarterback with 125. Brady is 5-1 against Tennessee and has 10 TDs with no interceptions in those games. Titans LB Colin McCarthy had a walking boot on his right foot but said he'll be OK.

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Report: NFL considers having WADA handle testing

The New York Times is reporting that the NFL is considering having the World Anti-Doping Agency oversee testing of players for performance-enhancing drugs if a federal appeals court forces the league to end the lockout and implement rules for operating the league this season.

The Times cited an unidentified NFL official briefed on its planning.

The newspaper reports bringing in WADA could eventually lead to players being blood tested for human growth hormone for the first time.

The NFL and players are locked in a labor battle that has gone to the courts. The owners are currently locking out the players, who have dissolved their union and sued the owners in federal court.

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