It took a little bit of time for the Houston Texans offense to get going, but once it did, the Dolphins couldn't do anything to stop it as the Texans opened the 2012 season with a 30-10 victory.
Matt Schaub threw for 286 yards and a touchdown and Arian Foster overcame his questionable status to rush for two touchdowns as well. Andre Johnson posted his typical stellar Andre Johnson line, hauling in eight catches for 119 yards and a touchdown.
The Dolphins defense kept the score respectable until the Dolphins offense unraveled with two minutes left in the first half. The Dolphins kept the Texans scoreless in the first quarter, but quarterback Ryan Tannehill couldn't muster anything as the Dolphins only led 3-0.
It was tied 3-3 going into the closing minutes of the first half before the Texans finally awoke from their deep slumber. They fired off 24 unanswered points in the second quarter, 21 of which came in the final two minutes, to put the game out of the Dolphins' reach.
Tannehill had a rough go around in his first NFL regular season start, throwing three interceptions and finished the game 20-for-36 and 219 yards.
The Big Winner: Andre Johnson
Although Arian Foster had a couple of touchdowns, he only averaged 3.0 yards per carry. Johnson, on the other hand, hauled in eight receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown. Johnson also caught virtually everything Schaub through his way as he was targeted 10 times. And let's just put that GIF back in here of Johnson destroying the Dolphins secondary.
The Big Loser: Ryan Tannehill
Everyone knew that the Dolphins quarterback sitation wasn't the best, but Tannehill didn't do much to gain any confidence in anyone. His three interceptions resulted in three scoring drives for the Texans as everything unraveled toward the end of the first half.
C'mon Twitter, It's Been Only One Game
Tannehill is just a rookie. But the NFL is a harsh world. So despite the fact that he was going against a very good Texans defense in his first NFL regular season start, people on the internet are very unforgiving.
According to some anonymous sources, the Dolphins are looking into making a time machine in order to back in time and undraft Ryan Tannehil.
— Daniel Gal (@Danielgal) September 9, 2012
Your new Jamarcus Russell: Ryan Tannehil. Three interceptions in the first half.
— Devon Moore (@DevonSiete) September 9, 2012
Of the rookie QBs, Ryan Tannehill looks most like a rookie. He has three picks.
— John Clayton (@ClaytonESPN) September 9, 2012
If you have the Texans on your fantasy team, you were in good hands this week.
A lot can be said for either Schaub, Johnson or Foster, but the big winner for fantasy purposes were the Houston Texans defense. They finished the game with three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
How about that spread?
The spread headed up to about 13 points, and the Texans cleared that in their second-quarter barrage of points.
Next up for Week 2:
The Dolphins get to take on the Oakland Raiders at home, and the Texans head to Jacksonville for a game against the Jaguars.
For more on the Texans, check out Battle Red Blog, and visit The Phinsider for everything on the Dolphins. For all of your NFL needs, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated NFL hub.