*Texans keep alive playoff hopes, down Broncos*
By Ted Dunham PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
HOUSTON (Ticker) -- With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Houston Texans had little problem handing coach Gary Kubiak his first win over mentor Mike Shanahan.
Sage Rosenfels accounted for two touchdowns and the Texans used a strong second-half rushing performance from Ron Dayne to keep alive their postseason hopes with a 31-13 win over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night.
Houston (7-7) barely is afloat in the AFC playoff race, sitting 1 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Browns (8-5) for the final spot. The Tennessee Titans (7-6) and Buffalo Bills (7-6) also are in the running.
The Bills take on the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday, while the Titans visit the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kubiak served under Shanahan in Denver for 11 seasons from 1995-2005 as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach before taking the Texans' coaching position on January 26, 2006.
Shanahan's congratulatory gesture to Kubiak after Thursday's game was short and sweet.
"I just said 'Hey, great job,'" Shanahan said. "'You got your team ready to play. You outplayed and outcoached us.' You have to give a lot of credit to Houston to come out in the second half and control the tempo of the game and run the ball extremely well. They did a much better job of stopping the run than we did running the football."
Kubiak was just grateful to emerge with a victory.
"It wouldn't matter who the win was against," Kubiak said. "The key is that the Texans got a big win tonight. I have so much respect for Mike (and) that whole organization.
"There's a lot of faces over there I've been through many games with. I was thinking today that Mike and I - as a player and coach - have been in over 350 NFL games. That's a lot of ball, and I'll always have a lot of respect for what he does."
Rosenfels helped Houston build an early 7-0 lead with the first rushing score of his career. He was a perfect 4-of-4 on the Texans' game-opening drive, which put the team in position for its third consecutive TD drive to open a contest.
After faking a handoff to running back Darius Walker on the opening series, the reserve quarterback - who was making his second straight start for an injured Matt Schaub - beat Denver's defense as he rolled out to the left side and outraced the Broncos to the end zone for a five-yard TD.
With the Texans holding a slim 10-6 lead, Dayne extended the advantage when he capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive - the club's first of the second half - with six-yard scoring run up the middle.
Dayne, who did not record a carry in the first half, finished with 11 for 67 yards.
"Ron did a great job," Rosenfels said. "When you can run the ball, it's a great feeling. It just opens up so many other things."
Following Denver's scoring drive at the end of the third quarter, Rosenfels dashed the Broncos' hopes of gaining ground in the AFC playoff race when he found Andre Johnson in the end zone for his only touchdown pass of the contest to push the advantage to 24-13 with 10:06 remaining.
"To win on a short week (is good)," Rosenfels said. "We had some people banged up - (linebacker) DeMeco Ryans, (offensive lineman) Chester Pitts and myself. But the crowd being as jacked up as they were, that made the pain go away pretty quick. Our defense did a great job of stopping the run and getting the ball in our hands."
Rosenfels completed 16-of-27 passes for 200 yards with an interception.
The Texans added their final score when fullback Vonta Leach drove through the heart of the Broncos' defense for a one-yard TD plunge that gave Houston a 31-13 cushion with 3:20 left in the game.
Much-maligned defensive end Mario Williams had his best game as a pro, setting a new franchise single-game record with 3 1/2 sacks. His performance also made him Houston's career sacks leader with 17 1/2.
"This was our first big-stage game, and we showed the world what we can do," Williams said. "When I heard that 'Super Mario' music (in the stadium), I got pumped up."
A former first overall pick who dealt with a foot injury for most of last season as well as inevitable comparisons with the player many expected to go first in last season's draft - Saints running back Reggie Bush - Williams trails only Seattle's Patrick Kerney with a franchise-best 13 sacks this season.
Despite notching at least one sack in each of the last five contests, and nine overall in that span, Williams downplayed the Pro Bowl conversation that has been directed his way with his play of late.
"It's out of my hands," Williams said. "Obviously, I'd like to go, but the most important thing is the last two games. I'm not thinking about (the Pro Bowl). Hopefully, we'll be playing in January."
The defense played a key role for the Texans, who sacked Jay Cutler five times in the contest and held the vaunted Broncos' rushing attack to just 72 yards.
Additionally, the Texans stopped the Broncos on two fourth-down plays in the third quarter as Denver (6-8) was threatening to take the lead.
Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler said that typified Denver's offensive frustrations.
"We couldn't quite punch it in," said Scheffler, who scored the Broncos' lone touchdown. "There were (either) penalties or a lack of blocking. There are a lot of things that you can point at. We just didn't bring it tonight.
"A lot of things don't seem to be going right, so we've just got to finish these last two games on a high note and take it into next year. We've just got to put everything in place every game. Until we do that, we'll be .500."
Cutler finished 27-of-39 for 254 yards and a TD for the Broncos. Brandon Marshall, who had nine catches for 83 yards at the half, ended the contest with a career-best 11 receptions for 107 yards.
"I thought they were quicker than us," Cutler said. "They dominated up front a little bit, I missed some throws early on. ... We just weren't sharp. That level that we had last week wasn't there."
Kubiak believes his team is directly responsible for creating havoc for opponents on a more frequent basis.
"We've been in some great games here in the last month, and twice we've failed late in the third quarter and fourth quarter," Kubiak said. "We got ourselves right back in the same position against Tampa (Bay) and Denver, and we got better.
"The key to our football team right now is that we have made ourselves go right back to some of the places we failed. We wanted to play big games in December, and we're doing that."
