Texans 31, Broncos 13: Mario Williams Welcomes Prime Time

If you want the traditional sorta newsy game recap, check out the AP account or the one from the Houston Chronicle. Here's some football observations about the game and some silly gossipy stuff.

Keys to the Outcome:

Home Field Advantage: Both the Texans and the Broncos have young players at key positions. As is typical for those sorts of teams, they play much better at home than on the road. The Broncos are now 2-6 on the road, and the Texans are 5-2 at home (including 4-0 at home when wide receiver Andre Johnson is playing).

Yesterday is what the Texans call "Battle Red Day" when they wear their alternative jerseys, and encourage their fans to wear red. The Texans are now 5-2 all time when it's B.R.D. Because of the very vertical design of Reliant Stadium due to the retractable roof, it can get very loud because the fans are near the field, and the stadium traps noise. My seats are close to the field, and last night it was so loud my ears are still ringing.

In this mornings' The Debriefing, FanHouse's mjd said that the uniforms look like stunning red pajamas. Personally I like to think of them like the Kool-Aid Man. You know, he's friendly yet able to bust through your living room wall with ferocious intensity.
Video Link.

Defensive Pressure: The Texans pressured Bronco quarterback Jay Cutler all game, and Denver had difficulty returning the favor. The Texans recorded 5 sacks, and the Broncos got none.

Probably one of the key plays of the game was something that won't show up on most stat sheets. Texans DE Mario Williams had a quarterback pressure really early in the game, barely knocking into Cutler right after he threw it. After that, it appeared as though Cutler expected the pressure to be there. Given that Mario Williams had 3 1/2 sacks over the course of the evening, that's probably not a bad assumption on Cutler's part.

Both teams missed opportunities for interceptions throughout the game as the quarterback play was sometimes overly aggressive (or more unkindly, errant), and balls were hitting into defenders hands all night and bouncing out.

The Texans defense has had some poor moments over the season (the San Diego game in particular comes to mind), but I believe that their overall team ranking looks unusually low because the offense this season hasn't done them favors with turnovers and short fields.

Some people may want to manufacture a quarterback controversy between Rosenfels and Matt Schaub, but at this point I think what is indisputable is how much better the Texans offense looks when Andre Johnson is on the field.

Special Teams: As I mentioned in the preview of this game, the Texans special teams tends to be a strength for them and it has been a game-losing weakness for the Broncos. Field position made a difference in the game.

And Now for Some Silly Gossipy Stuff

The NFL Network set was right in front of where my seats are, and it was interesting seeing how they do their stuff. Basically, they have a collapsible set that they pop up when they need it. When the NFL Network guys--Rich Eisen, Deion Sanders, Steve Mariucci are not on camera--they watch the game from the sidelines.

They seemed to very much enjoy watching the Texans cheerleaders perform, and at some point, someone from the Texans gave them the new Texans Cheerleader Swimsuit calendars. And as males who are not dead, they all spent some time flipping through it.

None of this is particularly news and doesn't really have much to do with football, but I figured some of y'all would appreciate your gratuitous cheerleader link of the day. I'm helpful that way.