Houston's Week 4 win over Buffalo was such a collective effort, head coach Bill O'Brien handed out more than a half dozen game balls.
Following their 23-17 victory on Sunday, seven Texans players were awarded game balls: three on defense, two on offense, and two for special teams players.
Defense: J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing, Darryl Morris
"The defense played a whale of a game," O'Brien said Sunday.
Watt had the game-changer with the 80-yard interception returned for a touchdown. He also put up nine quarterback hits on E.J. Manuel, the same number as the entire Bills defense.
"He's a very instinctive, great player," O'Brien said of Watt. "It really turned the game, no question about it."
Brian Cushing led the defense in tackles against Buffalo with nine. Cushing also added one quarterback hit and a pass defensed.
"I thought he played a heck of a game," O'Brien said. "I think he had nine tackles. He was downhill in the running game. He played a very physical game. He did a really good job in the passing game of being disciplined whether he was in zone coverage, being in the right spot, or being in match coverage staying with his man. I thought he played a really good, solid football game."
Undrafted cornerback Darryl Morris had an interception on the Bills final offensive series to seal the Texans win.
"He played really well," O'Brien said. "He played tight coverage. He made plays on the ball. He did a good job in the running game. He was competitive. He's got good speed. He's got good playing strength, so he just needs to keep improving."
Offense: Garrett Graham, Jay Prosch
Graham, who was named co-captain for Sunday's game, lined up in the backfield for Houston's first offensive play and finished with three catches for 28 yards.
"I think we had some good matchups yesterday that were favorable for us," Graham said. "Hopefully we can continue to keep that going. It was an OK day at the tight end position. I think we could have done a lot of things better. Just going to try to continue and improve and get better for next week."
Jay Prosch recorded his first career reception in the third quarter, a 24-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Special Teams: Shane Lechler, Randy Bullock
After injuring his left hip following a blocked punt in Week 3 against the New York Giants, Shane Lechler did not practice last week and was listed as questionable. The six-time All-Pro placed three of his kicks inside Buffalo's 20-yard line, including one that was downed at the one in the fourth quarter.
"Shane Lechler is a great example for young players," O'Brien said. "Here's a guy that was basically banged up all week. Didn't do much during the week on the practice field, but was in there every day for extra treatment morning, noon and night. Paid attention in the gameplan meetings, did a great job in his players' special teams meeting that he has on Saturday morning, got the guys ready to go in that regard and then went out there and had some big kicks. Was able to pin Buffalo deep, flip the field a few times and that's what being a pro is all about. Shane is a very professional guy and great punter."
Randy Bullock connected on all three of his field goals, two of which were from over 50 yards. He is now eight of nine on the season and has the third-most field goals made in Texans franchise history with 34.
"Randy Bullock did an excellent job kicking," O'Brien said. "His kickoffs were good. Even when they weren't touchbacks, he was able to put in the corner and kind of limit the amount of field (C.J.) Spiller had to return. Especially the kickoff after the celebration penalty, that one where we had to kick off from the 20, which ended up being the 25 because Buffalo was penalized on the PAT there, he did a great job on that kickoff. Kicking it deep in the corner where the guys could cover it. And then obviously his field goals were impressive, so he did a real good job."
