Texans Put on a Clinic in Second Half, then Visit One to Treat Their Broken Hearts

Houston Texans wide-receiver Andre Johnson is a beast. There's no two ways about it. At 6'3", 225 pounds, he's got the physical make-up of the team's bull mascot, Toro, minus the cartoonish creative liberties taken in its creation. Add in the agility of a Jaguar, and, as Cortland Finnegan will attest to, the fury of a Titan, and it's no wonder that he's a four-time Pro Bowler.

His clutch play last night is further proof of his greatness, with Johnson not only scoring the game-tying touchdown (minus the two-point conversion that actually tied the game), but making several huge plays on that final Texans drive in regulation. At one point, he made a one-handed grab look as routine as you or I would buying a hot dog off the street to feed our relatively out-of-shape selves. It's enough to make one fall into a deep depression and want to eat more processed beef as a comfort food.

However, as great as he was last night against the Baltimore Ravens, it wasn't enough  to get his team the win as the Texans fell 34-28 in overtime, following an interception out of the hands of quarterback Matt Schaub and into those of cornerback Josh Wilson. It was an especially heartbreaking loss for Houston, not only because it all but mathematically eliminated them from playoff contention, but because they came oh, so close to winning after being down 28-7 in the second half.

The loss marked the record fourth time a team has come back from 14 or more points to tie or lead in a game and then lose. The stat proves the heart of this Texans team as well as a lack of maturity that will certainly come with time. Right now, though, fans can only lament what could have been as well as the fact that the franchise has yet to make the playoffs in now-nine seasons in the NFL.

It isn't right to blame Schaub for the loss, as it was his genius (and Johnson's talent) in the late stages of the game that even made it possible for the Texans to reach overtime. Really, it's a matter of the team as a whole clicking at the same time that will make this team consistently great, because, as they proved yesterday, they already are in spurts. Granted, most of that greatness came when Johnson was on the field, but, still, getting to overtime was a total team effort. Unfortunately, so was losing the way they did.