Matt Ryan's hail mary attempt to Julio Jones fell incomplete and the Houston Texans overcame more injuries to capture a big 17-10 home win over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Texans overcame injuries to standout wide receiver Andre Johnson as well cornerback Jason Allen and punter Brett Hartmann. They did so with rookie Tyler Yates managing an offense that relied heavily on running back Arian Foster and a dominating defense that harassed the Falcons the entire game.
Yates finished 12 of 25 in the game for 188 yards and a second quarter touchdown to Joe Dreessen that gave the Texans a 10-0 lead. Arian Foster ran the ball 31 times for 111 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown that put Houston in front for good. Andre Johnson caught four passes for 97 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury to his left hamstring.
Atlanta struggled to move the ball against the Texans defense. Matt Ryan struggled to a 20 of 45 day for 267 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Ryan was sacked three times by the Texans' defense. The Falcons weren't able to get the ground game going with Michael Turner amassing only 44 yards on 14 carries. Tony Gonzalez caught seven passes for 100 yards.
The win moves Houston to 9-3 on the season and maintains their two game advantage over the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South division. The Texans hit the road next week for a match up in Cincinnati against the Bengals.
For more analysis on the Houston Texans, visit Battle Red Blog and head over to The Falcoholic for more insights on the Atlanta Falcons.