A pair of young pass-catchers came up big for the Texans in their preseason triumph over the Saints.
Jalen Camp and Johnny Johnson III each caught a touchdown pass in the 17-13 come-from-behind victory and each was instrumental in the final drive.
"We're talking an awful lot about showing up first," Texans Head Coach Lovie Smith said. "Once you show up, you've got to show out. You've got to make some plays. For young players that know that they're going to get a limited amount of opportunities, when you get it, you need to make yourself known."
Both Camp and Johnson did so in the game's closing moments. Coming out of the 2-minute warning, the Texans faced a 1st-and-10 at their own 21-yard line. Quarterback Jeff Driskel went deep up the right sideline to a wide open Camp, who was pushed out of bounds at the Saints' 30-yard line. The completion was the longest play of the game, and it picked up 49 yards. From there, it was the Johnson show.
Driskel handed off to Royce Freeman for a pickup of two, then tossed to Johnson on the right side for what would've been about nine yards and almost a first down. Johnson reeled off a pair of spin moves that pushed the Texans offense to the Saints' 9-yard line, and the Texans were in a goal-to-go situation with a fresh set of downs and just under a minute left in regulation.
"Just trying to make the most of every opportunity to put us in the best position to win," Johnson said, when asked why he didn't just go out of bounds. "Just fighting for the extra yards, getting that yac (yards after catch). That's just an everyday play for our room."
A three-yard gain by Freeman followed, and then Driskel threw incomplete to the right side, but then he went to Johnson, and the young receiver got both feet in bounds on the right side to give the Texans the lead. Johnson and his teammates were glad they executed a successful 2-minute drill to deliver a win.
"That was big," Johnson said. "Two minutes was big for us. We work on that every day. So that's something we take pride in and we execute it. And we won the game."
For Camp, who made an acrobatic 4-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, it's all about perspective.
"They always say it's never as good as you think it is, and it's never as bad as you think it is," Camp said. "So just after watching the film yesterday on the off day, I think there were some things that definitely need to be cleaned up. I think I did some good things and I think there was also some things that I need to clean up for sure."
Camp finished with a game-high 53 yards on just a pair of receptions. Johnson also caught two balls, and finished with 25 receiving yards.
