Johnson's ability, heart continue to amaze team

LANDOVER, Md. — The name on the back of the white No. 80 jersey was Johnson. It might as well have been "Amazing."

The name on the back of the burgundy No. 37 jersey was Doughty. It might as well have been "Helpless."

In a day filled with spectacular plays, the most memorable one was Amazing outjumping Helpless to make the touchdown catch that kept the Texans' hopes alive.

The Texans took advantage of it, claiming a 30-27 overtime victory over the Redskins to start this season of promise 2-0. The Texans also took sole possession of first place in the AFC South for the first time in franchise history.

Afterward almost everyone talked about the remarkable catch made by the world's best wide receiver. Andre Johnson. No. 80. Amazing.

Johnson's catch over Washington safety Reed Doughty, a leaping grab on a fourth-and-10 play from the Redskins' 34-yard line, tied the score at 27 with 2:03 left in the game.

"I didn't know he had that in him," an excited Texans owner Bob McNair said. "That would have been a magnificent dunk if it was a basketball game. He just wanted that ball. He just literally soared up the air and made a magnificent catch.

"If he hadn't caught that ball, we were out of it. It was over."

If it is left up to Johnson to make a play, the Texans would almost never lose a game. He is that good. That much better than most of the people who try to cover him. Too Big. Too Fast. Too Strong.

That is why McNair went against the norm and renegotiated Johnson contract this offseason, despite the five years remaining on a Texans-friendly deal.

In a wild offensive shootout with over 900 passing yards, the best offensive player on the field was Johnson.

The Redskins had Johnson double-covered on the play, but cornerback Phillip Buchanon, Johnson's college teammate at Miami, inexplicably peeled off. By the time Matt Schaub launched the throw, it was Johnson against Doughty in the South end zone at FedEx Field.

"In that situation, I put my money on Andre 10 out of 10 times," Texans safety Eugene Wilson said. "That was just one of the most, no that was the most clutch play I've ever seen."

Wilson, a former Patriot, has played on two Super Bowl championship teams.

"Unbelievable," said fellow receiver Kevin Walter, who had an impressive game with 11 receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown. But his performance wasn't quite Johnsonesque.

Johnson, who this season could become the first player to lead the league in receiving yards for three straight years, finished with 12 catches for 158 yards, and, of course, that wondrous game-saving scoring grab.

Not that the story needed additional flavor, but Johnson had left the game late in the third quarter, with the Texans in a 17-point hole, due to a badly sprained ankle.

Team doctors told coach Gary Kubiak that Johnson was done for the day. Johnson wasn't so sure about that.

"I was a little discouraged," Johnson said. "I was running around on the sideline, and wasn't feeling too good at first. (I) came inside, came back out, started feeling a little better and I was able to make some plays."

Johnson laughed when he said that. He didn't want to talk openly about having to take a shot to numb the ankle; dull the pain.

Relying on a painkiller isn't typical for Johnson. He is blessed with a rock solid frame that generally holds up to the punishment of football.

He is one of the league's best-conditioned athletes and works hard preparing for the season with a grueling offseason training regimen.

Though he typically dishes out more punishment than he takes, injuries are a part of the sport. He landed with a catch with his foot turned the wrong way and the ankle got twisted up in a little pile.

He tried to walk it off. He tried to run it off. He tried a new tape job. Even after the shot, medical staff wasn't too sure that he could give it a go.

But he tapped Kubiak on the shoulder anyway.

"He walked over to me and said, 'I'm playing,'" Kubiak said. "He tells me he's playing, he's playing."

On Johnson's first play back, the Texans didn't look his way, but he realized that he could run at near full speed, which meant the Redskins were in trouble.

On the Texans' next possession Johnson had a 29-yard catch on third-and-10, to keep the drive moving, then made the catch that he says was the biggest of his career, topping a miraculous fourth-down catch on a game-winning drive against the Dolphins two years ago.

"I just knew that we needed a play to win, and that's pretty much it," Johnson said. "I was given the opportunity and I was able to make it."

Simply Amazing.

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(chron.com)