Sad Sacks No More

After the Houston Texans upset the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, everybody at Pro Player Stadium had something to complain about. The miffed Miami fans and the flummoxed Dolphins were upset that their highly touted team didn't get the expected easy win over the second-year opponent. The Texans, who won 21-20 on Kris Brown's 35-yard field goal with 25 seconds left, were griping about having been two-touchdown underdogs entering the game. Lost in all the emotion was the most shocking aspect of the game: Houston did not allow a sack. Last season David Carr was dropped an NFL-record 76 times, but the Texans kept their quarterback upright against one of the NFL's fastest and most sack-happy defenses.

Miami pass rushers were caught off guard when Carr unexpectedly threw out of three-step drops the entire game. "On film he was dropping back nine, 10 and 11 yards and throwing downfield, but he didn't do that today," said Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, who led the NFL with 18� sacks in 2002. "On a three-step drop, you're not going to get to [ Carr]. All you can do is put your hands up. We were close a couple times, but he did a good job of getting rid of the ball."

The Texans weren't surprised that Carr was able to complete 17 of 31 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. Their top priority in the off-season was to improve their offensive line. The only holdovers from last year are left tackle Chester Pitts and center Steve McKinney; Zach Weigert (right guard) was signed as a free agent, Greg Randall (right tackle) was acquired in a trade, and second-year guard Milford Brown, who was a backup last year, was moved into the starting lineup. In training camp offensive coordinator Chris Palmer predicted his unit would reduce last year's sack total by one third.

Putting the preseason bravado aside, this was still an offense that had ranked last or next to last in the league in every major statistical category last season. There was no reason to believe that Houston would be so efficient at the outset. But apparently these Texans, especially Pitts, learn quickly. He thwarted Taylor with little help from his linemates. "We definitely took Taylor into account, but we also prepared for the other 10 guys," Pitts said. "On every play we have to go out and block like we're on our own. If we're depending on somebody to help us and they can't get there fast enough, we get our quarterback killed."

Houston will have ample opportunity to prove that Sunday's effort was no fluke. They'll face ferocious front fours in games against the Tennessee Titans, the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Bucs later in the season. For now, the Texans have confidence in their protection schemes, and best of all they showed a balanced attack in gaining 393 total yards. Stacey Mack's 89 rushing yards keyed a ground attack that gained 127—only the fourth time in the team's brief history that it rushed for 100 yards in a game.

This is a different Houston offense. "We weren't where we wanted to be last year," coach Dom Capers said, "but this is a great start."