Andre Johnson completes rally with clutch TD

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HOUSTON — These 10 seconds will not define this year for the Texans. These 10 seconds will not alter the path of their historic season in any substantial way.

These 10 seconds simply showed the connection between Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson and, even more so, between Johnson, the fans' favorite, and those fans.

Johnson turned a screen pass from Schaub into a 48-yard touchdown — each capping one of the best statistical games in NFL history — as the Texans survived perhaps their worst game of the season and escaped with a 43-37 overtime victory over the 1-9 Jacksonville Jaguars at Reliant Stadium on Sunday.

“I love him,” Schaub said of Johnson. “I love the way he plays. ... He gives me a chance to look good. And that's what he did today.

“It was special. That's just Andre.”

Johnson had 14 catches for a career-high 273 yards — the ninth-most in NFL history.

Schaub finished 43 of 55 passing for a career-high 527 yards — tied with ex-Oilers quarterback Warren Moon for the second-most in NFL history — and five touchdowns.

The Texans rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and improved to 9-1 — tied with the Falcons for the best record in the NFL.

They entered the game as 151/2-point favorites, the largest spread in the NFL this year.

“We struggled today,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “But we kept battling, and we found a way to win a game another way.”

The Texans now get three days of rest before playing at Detroit (4-6) on Thanksgiving Day.

And they are going to need all of the rest they can get after this wild, entertaining affair.

The Texans finished with a franchise-record 640 total yards but allowed 458 yards to the Jaguars.

The teams traded field goals to start overtime, setting the stage for the most memorable play (so far) in this most memorable Texans season.

Schaub took a shotgun snap. He waited a split second and fired a pass to Johnson, who had turned straight toward Schaub for a screen pass.
Johnson sprinted down the right sideline, not even having to weave between defenders.

Ten seconds after the snap, Johnson, the longest tenured Texan, sprinted through the end zone and into the waiting arms of delirious fans.


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(mysanantonio.com)
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