What We Learned: Texans vs Rams

The Houston Texans escaped with a 16-13 victory over the now 1-13 St. Louis Rams on Sunday, thanks to a late Kris Brown field goal. Let's see how our keys to victory played out.

Three most important things for the Texans on defense:

1. Stop Steven Jackson. Jackson was the Rams best offensive player on Sunday as he gained 82 yards on ground on 20 attempts. Jackson also caught four passes for 41 yards.

2. No big plays. Houston did a good job of keeping everything in front of them as the longest play St. Louis had from scrimmage was 25 yards (pass to Jackson).

3. Pressure Bulger. In a late scratch, Marc Bulger didn't play and Keith Null was inserted into the lineup. The Texans sacked Null three times and forced a fumble from the young quarterback.

---

Three most important things for the Texans on offense:

1. No turnovers! The Texans lost a pair of fumbles, keeping the Rams into a game they had no business being in.

2. Maintain some balance. Houston threw the ball 40 times compared to just 24 rushes. The Texans averaged just 2.2 yards per carry.

3. Find ‘Dre. Andre Johnson was involved in a big way as he caught nine passes for 196 yards on Sunday.

---

What to look for:

1. Look for Matt Schaub to throw for over 300 yards. Schaub beat up the Rams defense in terms of yards, but it didn't translate into many points. Schaub completed 28 of 40 attempts for 367 yards and a touchdown.

2. Look for a Ryan Moats touchdown. Moats led the Texans in rushing with 46 yards on 13 carries, but did not find pay-dirt.

3. Look for Steven Jackson to get 100 yards from scrimmage. Jackson tallied 123 yards from scrimmage against a defense that was keyed on stopping him.

4. Look for the Texans to force three or more turnovers. Houston forced just two turnovers, both from quarterback Keith Null on a fumble and an interception.

5. Look for the Texans to get back to .500. It wasn't pretty, but the Texans found a way to win and they're now back in the playoff race at 7-7.