Texans Beat Steelers 17-10
HOUSTON (KDKA) – The Pittsburgh Steelers were looking to keep their winning ways going when they took on the Houston Texans Sunday afternoon, but came up short in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers (2-2) were able to erase a 10-0 halftime deficit, but Arian Foster's 42-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter put the Texans ahead for good as the Texans (3-1) held on for a 17-10 win.
The Texans got the ball first and took over on their own 5 yard line.
Houston overcame two holding penalties and chewed up over 10 minutes on the clock before drawing first blood in the game.
Matt Schaub found tight end Owen Daniels wide open in the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown pass to put Houston up 7-0. The touchdown capped a 19-play 95-yard drive.
Pittsburgh got their hands on the ball for the first time with just over four minutes to play in the first quarter at their own 20 yard line.
The Steelers were able to make it to about midfield before the drive stalled and they were forced to punt.
Houston was not able to do much with their second possession, but they were able to pin the Steelers deep in their own territory with a punt.
Pittsburgh took over on their own 6 yard line, but were forced to punt after just three plays. On 3rd-and-2, Ben Roethlisberger found Heath Miller, but the Texans quickly tackled him short of the first down marker.
During their third possession, Andre Johnson suffered an apparent leg injury. He stayed down for several minutes before gingerly walking to the locker room under his own power.
On the next play, James Harrison was injured while tackling James Casey.
Houston got inside the 10 yard line, but had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Neil Rackers to extend the lead to 10-0 with 2:33 to play in the half.
A 40-yard pass to Mike Wallace seemed to fire up the Steelers as they marched down the field in an attempt to cut into the lead before halftime.
On 3rd-and-10 from the Houston 21 yard line, Roethlisberger found Wallace for a 9-yard gain. Roethlisberger hustled everyone to the line and attempted to draw the Texans offside for a first down to no avail.
Shaun Suisham's 30-yard field goal attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown. However, an illegal block in the back nullified the touchdown and ended the first half.
The Steelers began the second half with the ball and wasted no time in putting points on the board.
Rashard Mendenhall's 3-yard touchdown run capped a 13-play 74-yard drive to cut Houston's lead to 10-7.
Pittsburgh's defense stood tall on Houston's first possession of the second half and forced the Texans to punt after three plays.
On their next possession, the Steelers went to the ground and had success. The drive stalled at Houston's 8 yard line, but Suisham's 26-yard field goal tied the game 10-10 to start the fourth quarter.
The game would not remain tied for long.
After a two consecutive passes to Daniels set the Texans up in Pittsburgh territory, Foster broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run to regain the lead 17-10 with 12:02 to play.
After trading possessions, the Steelers were given their chance to tie the game with 3:33 to play and the ball at the Houston 48 yard line after a punt.
However, the Texans' defense broke up a passing play on 4th-and-7 to end the drive.
Houston tried to run out the clock, but the Steelers were able to force a punt with 1:13 to play and took over on their own 1 yard line.
On the first play of the drive, Roethlisberger was picked off and it was returned for a touchdown. However, a roughing the passer penalty negated the touchdown and gave the Steelers a second chance.
On 2nd-and-10 from the Houston 40 yard line Roethlisberger went for the deep ball, but was picked off by Jason Allen, which ended the game.
Roethlisberger finished the game 206 yards passing and one interception.
Foster rushed the ball 30 times for 155 yards and a touchdown to lead the way for Houston.
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