GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: TAMPA BAY (8-4) at HOUSTON (5-7)

NFL: TAMPA BAY at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NFL TWO MINUTE WARNING, 2ND HALF

TAMPA BAY 14
HOUSTON 28

TAM BALL ON HST 47 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 14
HOUSTON 28 0:30 LEFT, 4TH QTR

HST BALL ON HST 20 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 0 7 7 0 14
HOUSTON 7 7 7 7 28 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: HST - TD, ANDRE JOHNSON 4 YD PASS FROM SAGE
ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK), 11:01.
Drive: 12 plays, 66 yards in 6:19.
Key plays: Rosenfels 10-yard pass
to Walter to Tampa Bay 49;
Rosenfels 15-yard pass to A Johnson
to Tampa Bay 34; Rosenfels 6-yard
pass to Dayne on 3rd-and-6 to Tampa
Bay 24; Rosenfels 8-yard pass to A
Johnson on 3rd-and-5 to Tampa Bay
11. HOUSTON 7-0
2ND QUARTER: TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 4 YD RUN (MATT
BRYANT KICK), 4:03. Drive: 5 plays,
25 yards in 1:59. Key plays: Haye
recovery of Rosenfels fumble at
Houston 25. TAMPA BAY 7-7
HST - TD, KEVIN WALTER 8 YD PASS FROM SAGE
ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK), 10:22.
Drive: 3 plays, 23 yards in 1:27.
Key plays: Demps 3-yard return of
Hilliard fumble to Tampa Bay 23;
Rosenfels 14-yard pass to Walter to
Tampa Bay 9. HOUSTON 14-7
3RD QUARTER: HST - TD, ANDRE DAVIS 97 YD KICKOFF RETURN
(C.C. BROWN KICK), 0:14. HOUSTON
21-7
TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 11 YD RUN (MATT
BRYANT KICK), 2:22. Drive: 4 plays,
69 yards in 2:08. Key plays: McCown
31-pass to Smith to Houston 38;
Graham 20-yard run to Houston 11.
HOUSTON 21-14
4TH QUARTER: HST - TD, OWEN DANIELS 4 YD PASS FROM SAGE
ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK), 0:04.
Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards in 1:05.
Key plays: Brown 16-yard return of
McCown fumble to Tampa Bay 17;
Rosenfels 9-yard pass to Johnson on
3rd-and-6 to Tampa Bay 4. HOUSTON
28-14

ATT: 70,237</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NFL
TAMPA BAY 14
HOUSTON 28 FINAL</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 0 7 7 0 14
HOUSTON 7 7 7 7 28 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

11:01 HST - TD, ANDRE JOHNSON 4 YD PASS FROM SAGE ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK).
Drive: 12 plays, 66 yards in 6:19.
Key plays: Rosenfels 10-yard pass to Walter to Tampa Bay 49;
Rosenfels 15-yard pass to A Johnson to Tampa Bay 34; Rosenfels 6-yard pass
to Dayne on 3rd-and-6 to Tampa Bay 24; Rosenfels 8-yard pass to A Johnson
on 3rd-and-5 to Tampa Bay 11. HOUSTON 7-0.

2ND QUARTER:

4:03 TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 4 YD RUN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 5 plays, 25 yards in 1:59.
Key plays: Haye recovery of Rosenfels fumble at Houston 25. TAMPA
BAY 7-7.
10:22 HST - TD, KEVIN WALTER 8 YD PASS FROM SAGE ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 23 yards in 1:27.
Key plays: Demps 3-yard return of Hilliard fumble to Tampa Bay 23;
Rosenfels 14-yard pass to Walter to Tampa Bay 9. HOUSTON 14-7.

3RD QUARTER:

0:14 HST - TD, ANDRE DAVIS 97 YD KICKOFF RETURN (C.C. BROWN KICK).
HOUSTON 21-7.
2:22 TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 11 YD RUN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 4 plays, 69 yards in 2:08.
Key plays: McCown 31-pass to Smith to Houston 38; Graham 20-yard run
to Houston 11. HOUSTON 21-14.

4TH QUARTER:

0:04 HST - TD, OWEN DANIELS 4 YD PASS FROM SAGE ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK).
Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards in 1:05.
Key plays: Brown 16-yard return of McCown fumble to Tampa Bay 17;
Rosenfels 9-yard pass to Johnson on 3rd-and-6 to Tampa Bay 4. HOUSTON
28-14.

TAMPA BAY - HOUSTON Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS TAMPA BAY HOUSTON

FIRST DOWNS 16 18
Rushing 5 1
Passing 11 17
Penalty 0 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-13-23% 10-17-59%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-2-0% 0-0-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 305 257
Total offensive plays 59 66
Average gain per play 5.2 3.9
NET YARDS RUSHING 71 71
Rushing attempts 17 27
Average gain per rush 4.2 2.6
Tackles for loss-yards 1-1 2-4
NET YARDS PASSING 234 186
Times sacked: Number-Yards 4-32 3-23
Gross passing yards 266 209
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 38-25-0 36-27-0
Avg gain per pass play 5.6 4.8
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 3-1-1 5-2-0
PUNTS: Number and Average 6-39.5 5-42.6
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 39.0 41.8
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 3 4
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 1-3 2-4
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 5-133 2-115
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 0-0 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 4-25 5-35
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 2-2 2-2
TOUCHDOWNS 2 4
Rushing 2 0
Passing 0 3
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 1
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 2-2 4-4
Kicking: Made-Attempts 2-2 4-4
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 2-3-67% 3-4-75%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-0-0% 2-2-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 24:54 35:06


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

TAMPA BAY HOUSTON

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
E GRAHAM 15 61 4.1 20 2 D WALKER 16 46 2.9 9 0
L MCCOWN 2 10 5.0 10 0 R DAYNE 7 17 2.4 5 0
A ECHEMAND 2 7 3.5 5 0
S ROSENFEL 2 1 0.5 2 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L MCCOWN 25-38-266 0 0 31 S ROSENFEL 27-36-209 0 3 17

Sacked-Yards Lost: L MCCOWN 4-32. Sacked-Yards Lost: S ROSENFEL 3-23.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J GALLOWAY 6 87 14.5 18 0 A JOHNSON 9 82 9.1 17 1
E GRAHAM 6 45 7.5 12 0 D WALKER 6 35 5.8 8 0
M CLAYTON 4 39 9.8 19 0 K WALTER 5 47 9.4 14 1
I HILLIARD 3 28 9.3 10 0 O DANIELS 3 20 6.7 9 1
A SMITH 2 39 19.5 31 0 R DAYNE 2 15 7.5 9 0
M STOVALL 2 17 8.5 11 0 A DAVIS 1 5 5.0 5 0
A BECHT 1 7 7.0 7 0 V LEACH 1 5 5.0 5 0
B ASKEW 1 4 4.0 4 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Interceptions: None

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J BIDWELL 6 237 39.5 1 4 55 M TURK 5 213 42.6 0 3 50

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M SPURLOCK 1 3 3.0 3 0 J JONES 2 4 2.0 7 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M SPURLOCK 4 112 28.0 45 0 A DAVIS 2 115 57.5 97 1
M CLAYTON 1 21 21.0 21 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M BRYANT 2/2 0/0 K BROWN 3/3 0/0

C BROWN 1/1 0/0


O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
I HILLIARD 1 1 0 0-0 S ROSENFELS 2 2 0 0-0
L MCCOWN 1 1 0 0-0 W DEMPS 0 0 1 0-1
G WHITE 0 0 2 0-0 C BROWN 0 0 0 0-1
J HAYE 0 0 0 0-2

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
R BARBER 10 8 2 0-0 M GREENWOOD 13 7 6 1-8
D BROOKS 7 5 2 0-0 F BENNETT 8 8 0 0-0
C JUNE 7 5 2 0-0 W DEMPS 8 6 2 0-0
B RUUD 6 4 2 0-0 M WILLIAMS 6 4 2 1-13
P BUCHANON 5 5 0 0-0 D RYANS 6 3 3 0-0
G WHITE 5 4 1 3-23 J FLETCHER 4 4 0 0-0
J PHILLIPS 4 3 1 0-0 V HUTCHINS 4 3 1 0-0
K CARTER 3 3 0 0-0 C BROWN 3 2 1 0-0
C HOVAN 3 3 0 0-0 E COCHRAN 2 2 0 1-6
G ADAMS 3 3 0 0-0 C ANDERSON 2 1 1 0-0
B KELLY 3 3 0 0-0 N KALU 1 0 1 .5-2.5
J HAYE 3 2 1 0-0 A OKOYE 1 0 1 .5-2.5
T JACKSON 2 2 0 0-0 T JOHNSON 1 0 1 0-0
P CHUKWURAH 1 1 0 0-0
R SIMS 1 1 0 0-0

Att: 70,237</div>

 

By Andrew Ferraro
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Battered, beaten and bruised, the HoustonTexans aren't going down without a fight.


Backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels threw three touchdown passesto three different receivers to lead the Texans to a 28-14 winover the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

After losing their previous two games on the road, the playoffsare nothing more than a long shot for the oft-laughable Houstonfranchise.


But Rosenfels, filling in for the injured Matt Schaub, completed27-of-36 passes for 209 yards, throwing touchdown passes toAndre Johnson, Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels to give the Texans(6-7) their second straight win at home and fourth of theseason.


Luke McCown started in the place of the injured Jeff Garcia forthe Bucs (8-5) and completed 25-of-38 passes for 266 yards andno touchdowns.


Earnest Graham carried the ball 15 times for 61 yards and scoredboth of Tampa Bay's touchdowns.


It was McCown's fumble on a muffed snap that gave the Texans theball in the red zone with a chance to put the game away in thefinal quarter.


Houston made the turnover count, taking a 28-14 lead on thefirst play of the fourth quarter when Rosenfels hit Daniels inthe back of the end zone.


Rosenfels fumbled twice, but he made up for it with his secondmultiple touchdown game of the season. He threw for fourtouchdowns in a loss to the Tennessee Titans on October 21.

After stopping the Bucs on a 4th-and-2 on the first drive of thegame, Houston used a 12-play, 66-yard drive to take a 7-0 leadwhen Rosenfels hit Johnson for a 3-yard score with 3:59 left inthe opening quarter.


Rosenfels fumbled on the Texans' next drive to set up Tampa Bay,which only needed five plays to even the score. Grahamfactored in four of the five chances and capped the short drivewith a 4-yard power run into the end zone early in the secondquarter.


Houston used a turnover of its own to take the lead back laterin the quarter.


Bucs receiver Ike Hilliard fumbled after taking a vicious hit byWill Demps, giving the Texans the ball on Tampa Bay's 23-yardline.


The Texans needed just three plays to take the lead, capping thedrive with Rosenfels hitting Walter from 8 yards out and Walterstretching the ball just over the goal line for the 14-7advantage.


The Texans extended their lead to 21-7 when Andre Davis returnedthe second-half opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. ForDavis, it was the second kickoff return for a touchdown in hiscareer.


While playing for Cleveland in 2002, he ran one back from 95yards against the Houston Texans.


Graham got the Bucs back in the game when he capped a four-play,69 yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown. Alex Smith caught a31-yard pass from McCown to get that drive started.

The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for Tampa Bay, whichstill owns a comfortable lead as the only over-.500 team in theNFC South.

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 0 7 7 0 14
HOUSTON 7 7 7 7 28 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

11:01 HST - TD, ANDRE JOHNSON 4 YD PASS FROM SAGE ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK).
Drive: 12 plays, 66 yards in 6:19.
Key plays: Rosenfels 10-yard pass to Walter to Tampa Bay 49;
Rosenfels 15-yard pass to A Johnson to Tampa Bay 34; Rosenfels 6-yard pass
to Dayne on 3rd-and-6 to Tampa Bay 24; Rosenfels 8-yard pass to A Johnson
on 3rd-and-5 to Tampa Bay 11. HOUSTON 7-0.

2ND QUARTER:

4:03 TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 4 YD RUN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 5 plays, 25 yards in 1:59.
Key plays: Haye recovery of Rosenfels fumble at Houston 25. TAMPA
BAY 7-7.
10:22 HST - TD, KEVIN WALTER 8 YD PASS FROM SAGE ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK).
Drive: 3 plays, 23 yards in 1:27.
Key plays: Demps 3-yard return of Hilliard fumble to Tampa Bay 23;
Rosenfels 14-yard pass to Walter to Tampa Bay 9. HOUSTON 14-7.

3RD QUARTER:

0:14 HST - TD, ANDRE DAVIS 97 YD KICKOFF RETURN (KRIS BROWN KICK).
HOUSTON 21-7.
2:22 TAM - TD, EARNEST GRAHAM 11 YD RUN (MATT BRYANT KICK).
Drive: 4 plays, 69 yards in 2:08.
Key plays: McCown 31-pass to Smith to Houston 38; Graham 20-yard run
to Houston 11. HOUSTON 21-14.

4TH QUARTER:

0:04 HST - TD, OWEN DANIELS 4 YD PASS FROM SAGE ROSENFELS (KRIS BROWN KICK).
Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards in 1:05.
Key plays: Brown 16-yard return of McCown fumble to Tampa Bay 17;
Rosenfels 9-yard pass to Johnson on 3rd-and-6 to Tampa Bay 4. HOUSTON
28-14.

TAMPA BAY - HOUSTON Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS TAMPA BAY HOUSTON

FIRST DOWNS 16 18
Rushing 5 1
Passing 11 17
Penalty 0 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-13-23% 10-17-59%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0-2-0% 0-0-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 305 257
Total offensive plays 59 66
Average gain per play 5.2 3.9
NET YARDS RUSHING 71 71
Rushing attempts 17 27
Average gain per rush 4.2 2.6
Tackles for loss-yards 1-1 2-4
NET YARDS PASSING 234 186
Times sacked: Number-Yards 4-32 3-23
Gross passing yards 266 209
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 38-25-0 36-27-0
Avg gain per pass play 5.6 4.8
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 3-1-1 5-2-0
PUNTS: Number and Average 6-39.5 5-42.6
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 39.0 41.8
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 3 4
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 1-3 2-4
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 5-133 2-115
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 0-0 0-0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 4-25 5-35
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 2-2 2-2
TOUCHDOWNS 2 4
Rushing 2 0
Passing 0 3
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 1
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 2-2 4-4
Kicking: Made-Attempts 2-2 4-4
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 2-3-67% 3-4-75%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-0-0% 2-2-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 24:54 35:06


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

TAMPA BAY HOUSTON

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
E GRAHAM 15 61 4.1 20 2 D WALKER 16 46 2.9 9 0
L MCCOWN 2 10 5.0 10 0 R DAYNE 7 17 2.4 5 0
A ECHEMAND 2 7 3.5 5 0
S ROSENFEL 2 1 0.5 2 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L MCCOWN 25-38-266 0 0 31 S ROSENFEL 27-36-209 0 3 17

Sacked-Yards Lost: L MCCOWN 4-32. Sacked-Yards Lost: S ROSENFEL 3-23.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J GALLOWAY 6 87 14.5 18 0 A JOHNSON 9 82 9.1 17 1
E GRAHAM 6 45 7.5 12 0 D WALKER 6 35 5.8 8 0
M CLAYTON 4 39 9.8 19 0 K WALTER 5 47 9.4 14 1
I HILLIARD 3 28 9.3 10 0 O DANIELS 3 20 6.7 9 1
A SMITH 2 39 19.5 31 0 R DAYNE 2 15 7.5 9 0
M STOVALL 2 17 8.5 11 0 A DAVIS 1 5 5.0 5 0
A BECHT 1 7 7.0 7 0 V LEACH 1 5 5.0 5 0
B ASKEW 1 4 4.0 4 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
Interceptions: None

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J BIDWELL 6 237 39.5 1 4 55 M TURK 5 213 42.6 0 3 50

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M SPURLOCK 1 3 3.0 3 0 J JONES 2 4 2.0 7 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
M SPURLOCK 4 112 28.0 45 0 A DAVIS 2 115 57.5 97 1
M CLAYTON 1 21 21.0 21 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M BRYANT 2/2 0/0 K BROWN 4/4 0/0


O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
I HILLIARD 1 1 0 0-0 S ROSENFELS 2 2 0 0-0
L MCCOWN 1 1 0 0-0 W DEMPS 0 0 1 0-1
G WHITE 0 0 2 0-0 C BROWN 0 0 0 0-1
J HAYE 0 0 0 0-2

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
R BARBER 10 8 2 0-0 M GREENWOOD 13 7 6 1-8
D BROOKS 7 5 2 0-0 F BENNETT 8 8 0 0-0
C JUNE 7 5 2 0-0 W DEMPS 8 6 2 0-0
B RUUD 6 4 2 0-0 M WILLIAMS 6 4 2 1-13
P BUCHANON 5 5 0 0-0 D RYANS 6 3 3 0-0
G WHITE 5 4 1 3-23 J FLETCHER 4 4 0 0-0
J PHILLIPS 4 3 1 0-0 V HUTCHINS 4 3 1 0-0
K CARTER 3 3 0 0-0 C BROWN 3 2 1 0-0
C HOVAN 3 3 0 0-0 E COCHRAN 2 2 0 1-6
G ADAMS 3 3 0 0-0 C ANDERSON 2 1 1 0-0
B KELLY 3 3 0 0-0 N KALU 1 0 1 .5-2.5
J HAYE 3 2 1 0-0 A OKOYE 1 0 1 .5-2.5
T JACKSON 2 2 0 0-0 T JOHNSON 1 0 1 0-0
P CHUKWURAH 1 1 0 0-0
R SIMS 1 1 0 0-0

Officials: Referee-Bill Leavy, Umpire-Richard Hall, Head Linesman-Gary
Slaughter, Line Judge-Darryl Lewis, Field Judge-Rob Vernatchi, Side
Judge-Mike Weatherford, Back Judge-Kirk Dornan.

Att: 70,237 Time of Game: 2:51</div>

 

By Andrew Ferraro
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Battered, beaten and bruised, the HoustonTexans aren't going down without a fight.


Backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels threw three touchdown passesto three different receivers to lead the Texans to a 28-14 winover the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

After losing their previous two games on the road, the playoffsare nothing more than a long shot for the oft-laughable Houstonfranchise.


But Rosenfels, filling in for the injured Matt Schaub, completed27-of-36 passes for 209 yards, throwing touchdown passes toAndre Johnson, Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels to give the Texans(6-7) their second straight win at home and fourth of theseason.


"Definitely, I felt more comfortable today as the starter," saidRosenfels, who will likely start Thursday when the Texans hostDenver for a nationally televised game. "But I think the moreyou do anything, the better you get at it and the morecomfortable you are. I think I got better as the game wore on,and that was tough, especially against their great defense."

"Sage is a gutsy player and I said that in front of he and allof his teammates last night," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "Heis a guy that just has that drive and determination, and hewants to be a starter on this team."


Andre Johnson caught nine passes for 82 yards, and is excitedabout what the last three games could mean for the Texans, whoneed just one win to tie their franchise high (2004).

"We are banged up right now, but guys are willing to do whateverit takes to win football games," Johnson said. "We've neverhad a winning season around here, and with three games left thatis still really possible for us."


Luke McCown started in the place of the injured Jeff Garcia forthe Bucs (8-5) and completed 25-of-38 passes for 266 yards andno touchdowns.


Earnest Graham carried the ball 15 times for 61 yards and scoredboth of Tampa Bay's touchdowns.


"We want to, at this point, be playing playoff football," Grahamsaid. "We played well to start the first half and the secondhalf, but we didn't get it done. We just have to get back outthere next Monday and try to improve."


It was McCown's fumble on a muffed snap that gave the Texans theball in the red zone with a chance to put the game away in thefinal quarter.


Houston made the turnover count, taking a 28-14 lead on thefirst play of the fourth quarter when Rosenfels hit Daniels inthe back of the end zone.


Rosenfels fumbled twice, but he made up for it with his secondmultiple touchdown game of the season. He threw for fourtouchdowns in a loss to the Tennessee Titans on October 21.

After stopping the Bucs on a 4th-and-2 on the first drive of thegame, Houston used a 12-play, 66-yard drive to take a 7-0 leadwhen Rosenfels hit Johnson for a 3-yard score with 3:59 left inthe opening quarter.


Rosenfels fumbled on the Texans' next drive to set up Tampa Bay,which only needed five plays to even the score. Grahamfactored in four of the five chances and capped the short drivewith a 4-yard power run into the end zone early in the secondquarter.


Houston used a turnover of its own to take the lead back laterin the quarter.


Bucs receiver Ike Hilliard fumbled after taking a vicious hit byWill Demps, giving the Texans the ball on Tampa Bay's 23-yardline.


The Texans needed just three plays to take the lead, capping thedrive with Rosenfels hitting Walter from 8 yards out and Walterstretching the ball just over the goal line for the 14-7advantage.


The Texans extended their lead to 21-7 when Andre Davis returnedthe second-half opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. ForDavis, it was the second kickoff return for a touchdown in hiscareer.


"That was huge," Kubiak said. "Before the game we talked aboutneeding a big special teams play somewhere in the game and wegot one right there."


While playing for Cleveland in 2002, he ran one back from 95yards against the Houston Texans.


Graham got the Bucs back in the game when he capped a four-play,69 yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown. Alex Smith caught a31-yard pass from McCown to get that drive started.

The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for Tampa Bay, whichstill owns a comfortable lead as the only over-.500 team in theNFC South. The Bucs could have clinched a playoff berth with awin sunday and a loss by the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.

"We're going to take care of all those scenarios later," TampaBay coach Jon Gruden said. "We just didn't play well enough towin today. The goal is not necessarily to qualify for theplayoffs, but to win a championship. But we have to play betterthan we did today to do that."


Mario Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in 2006, also got in onthe act for the Texans, who played arguably their best defensivegame of the season. Williams recorded a sack for the fourthstraight game, becoming just the second player in team historyto do just that.


"I just try to get comfortable before every game and just keepit simple," Williams said. "If I get on a roll, then I am on aroll. It is what it is. We have a tough schedule - includingthis game - to close out the year and this was just a great winfor us."