Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE
In the first week of the season the Houston Texans offense got off to a slow start. At the end of the first quarter it was 3-0 in favor of the Miami Dolphins. The Texans defense provided the spark that turned up the intensity on the offense. The onslaught that the Texans unleashed on the Dolphins in the second quarter began with a turnover, an interception by Jonathan Joseph. This turnover only led to field goal but was just the beginning.
The next series for the Dolphins lasted five plays before Ryan Tannehill was intercepted by linebacker Brain Cushing. This turnover resulted in a touchdown run by running back Arian Foster and a 10-3 lead. On the very next offensive play for the Dolphins Tannehill was picked off again, this time by defensive back Kareem Jackson. After a Dolphins penalty and two Foster rushes later the Texans punch it in and make it 17-3.
The Dolphins attempted to regroup and attempted a running play after the kickoff. The team was probably thinking that they needed to give Tannehill a break and just have him hand the ball off. This did not work either as running back Daniel Thomas fumbled and Texans defensive back Daniel Manning recovered the ball. This turnover lead to a 14 yard touchdown pass from Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson which brought the score up to 24-3 and buried Miami in a huge hole.
The defense was the deciding factor in this game. A turnover can be main factor between winning and losing. The Texans offense was struggling to start the game and could not string together an effective drive to put points on the board. The defense took matters into its own hands four times in a single quarter to put the offense in scoring position. With the short field to work with the short field to work with the Texans were able to convert their drives into points and shut the door on the Dolphins.
This article is by Joe Serenka, Rant Sports Houston Texans Blogger. You can see more of his articles at http://www.rantsports.com/nfl/author/joeserenka/And you can follow him on twitter at @Texansblogster
