The Texans' 20-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans did not lose any importance
by the time Monday afternoon rolled around.
Head coach Dom Capers had plenty of praise for his football team in his weekly press conference, noting the division win was just what the team needed heading into a bye week.
The Texans next host Jacksonville Oct. 31.
"Developing as a team and into a winning team is a process and it's not an easy process," Capers said. "Sometimes you have to take a step back before you take a step forward. I compare our situation to climbing a ladder and you have to take it one step at a time and I think yesterday was a real positive step."
The coach listed multiple accomplishments from Sunday's game.
For starters, the team got off to a fast start. The Texans fell behind 21-0 against the Vikings, but opened the Tennessee game with a 73-yard drive and a field goal.
The defense also responded. The Titans first three series ended with two interceptions and a three-and-out. As a result, Houston held the ball for 10:29 seconds in the first quarter.
The Titans may have rallied to pull to 13-10 by half time but the crowd had trouble recovering.
Houston held the ball longer than Tennessee and kept one of the league's best rushers (Chris Brown) to 52 yards on 13 carries. The Titans only rushed 22 times in the game.
"We knew yesterday's game would be a physical game basically because of Tennessee's philosophy," Capers said. "They believe in running the ball on offense, stopping the run on defense and they're a team that came into the game yesterday leading the NFL with over 34 minutes in time of possession, which was actually a minute better than any other team."
By limiting the running game the Texans defense forced Titans quarterback Steve McNair to throw the ball 41 times. He ended the game with four interceptions. Houston failed to score on any of its takeaways.
The Titans scored on one of two Houston turnovers.
On the bright side, after starting the season minus six in takeaways, the Texans have leveled off over the past four games and head into the bye week even (11 turnovers and 11 takeaways).
"If a team can't run the ball against you then it becomes more of a predictable game, you call the game totally different on defense than if it's an either or game," Capers said. "What you normally see, if you do a good job stopping the run, you get more takeaways."
Capers said he liked the offensive consistency Sunday.
Quarterback David Carr completed 61.5 percent of his passes and led the offense on a nine-play, 65-yard drive with less than four minutes to play to give the Texans a 20-10 lead.
One thing to work on? The running game.
The Texans averaged 2.6 yards per rush, and failed to convert on a third-and-one in the second quarter. Kris Brown kicked a 50-yard field goal to end the drive.
But it's always easier to correct things after a win.
"This is a game of momentum," Capers said. "You certainly like to generate as much positive momentum, especially if you're going into a two week period where you aren't playing a game the next week because if you lose a game, you talk to any player or coach, they can't wait until the next week to get there so they can get that negative taste out of their mouth."
INJURY REPORT:Capers said 12 players will not take the field in the team's next practice, including: Carr, wide receiver Corey Bradford, running back Domanick Davis, strong safety Glenn Earl, wide receiver Andre Johnson, center Steve McKinney, fullback Moran Norris, linebacker Jamie Sharper, safety Jason Simmons, tackle Todd Wade, guard Zach Wiegert and linebacker Kailee Wong.
Capers said most of the players would play if the team were playing Sunday.
Bradford underwent an MRI on his groin Monday. Simmons saw a team doctor about a concussion.
