HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Domanick Davis rushed for 101 yards on 24 carries, including two short touchdowns in the third quarter, as the Houston Texans spoiled Michael Vick's return with a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Davis scored on TD runs of seven and two yards, enabling the Texans to rally from a 7-3 halftime deficit and overcome the loss of Tony Banks, who broke his right hand late in the first half.
"Before the year, I was looking forward to this one and then we both came in as backups off the bench," said Houston's David Carr, who completed just 2-of-5 passes for 25 yards in relief of Tony Banks "But I was really looking forward to playing him (Vick)."
Vick, who has been sidelined since the preseason with a broken right fibula, made his regular season debut in the second half and led the Falcons (2-10) to field goals on each of his two possessions.
"We were struggling and I thought he would give us a spark," Falcons coach Dan Reeves said. "It looked like he hadn't played in 14 weeks but he did a lot of good things out there. When he got sacked (late in the fourth quarter) is when it really hurt us."
Vick, who entered with 2:14 left in the third quarter, was driving the Falcons to a potential game-tying score in the final minutes. But he was called for intentional grounding on second down at the Texans' 11-yard line while trying to avoid the sack.
After Vick was held to a one-yard gain on 3rd-and-24, Atlanta settled for a field goal with 1:24 remaining and could not recover the ensuing onside kick, allowing the Texans (5-7) to run out the clock.
"We knew if we missed it (picking up the first down), the game was over," Reeves added. "But if we kicked the field goal, we had a chance on an onside kick. We thought that (a field goal) was our best option."
Doug Johnson completed 12-of-27 passes for 116 yards for the Falcons before giving way to Vick, who was 8-of-11 passes for 60 yards while rushing three times for 16 yards.
"I was pumped up and ready to go and just waiting for my opportunity," he said. "I only played a quarter and I got my feet wet. I wanted to see how my ankle would hold up. I was a little surprised (to play) but at the same time I was excited."
"I talked to him before the game and he told me he wanted to play," Texans linebacker Jamie Sharper said. "He was tired of sitting on the sideline. When he came in, it seemed like he had everything he needed physically but now he needs to practice because he wasn't ready for our zone."
The Texans drove 63 yards on eight plays on their first possession of the second half to take the lead before cornerback Marcus Coleman's 22-yard interception return to the Falcons 13 set up Davis' second TD.
The Falcons took a 7-0 lead on T.J. Duckett's one-yard TD run midway through the first quarter before the Texans got on the board on Kris Brown's 40-yard field goal with 5:43 left in the first half.
