The 2008 Houston Texans season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 3rd under head coach Gary Kubiak. Though the Texans lost their first four games of the season, they rallied and won five of their last six games, to finish with an 8–8 record for the second consecutive year.
The 2008 season also marked the Texans' first appearance on Monday Night Football.
Offseason
Coaching changes Head coach Gary Kubiak entered his third year with the Texans. Alex Gibbs, who implemented his successful zone blocking scheme with the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons joined the staff as the assistant head coach, replacing Mike Sherman, who left to become the head coach at Texas A&M. Kyle Shanahan, son of Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, took over as the offensive coordinator in place of Sherman.
Player additions/subtractions Additions: LB Kevin Bentley RB Chris Brown SS Nick Ferguson QB Quinn Gray (Released before regular season) C Chris Myers CB Jacques Reeves LB Chaun Thompson LB Rosevelt Colvin (Released before regular season)
Subtractions: LB Charlie Anderson SS Michael Boulware LB Danny Clark DB Von Hutchins WR Jerome Mathis TE Jeb Putzier C Mike Flanagan C Steve McKinney LB Shawn Barber OT Jordan Black
Draft
The Texans had seven selections in the 2008 NFL draft. The Texans originally had five before the draft after having traded their second round selection to the Atlanta Falcons to land quarterback Matt Schaub and their sixth-round pick to the Denver Broncos for center Chris Myers. The Texans traded their first-round pick with the Baltimore Ravens for their third and sixth-round selections along with their first-round pick.
Staff
Roster
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Denver Broncos W 19–16 1–0 Reliant Stadium Recap 2 at New Orleans Saints W 31–27 2–0 Louisiana Superdome Recap 3 at Dallas Cowboys L 22–23 2–1 Texas Stadium Recap 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 6–16 2–2 Reliant Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–38 0–1 Heinz Field Recap 2Bye 3 September 21 at Tennessee Titans L 12–31 0–2 LP Field Recap 4 September 28 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 27–30 0–3 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Recap 5 October 5 Indianapolis Colts L 27–31 0–4 Reliant Stadium Recap 6 October 12 Miami Dolphins W 29–28 1–4 Reliant Stadium Recap 7 October 19 Detroit Lions W 28–21 2–4 Reliant Stadium Recap 8 October 26 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–6 3–4 Reliant Stadium Recap 9 November 2 at Minnesota Vikings L 21–28 3–5 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap 10 November 9 Baltimore Ravens L 13–41 3–6 Reliant Stadium Recap 11 November 16 at Indianapolis Colts L 27–33 3–7 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 12 November 23 at Cleveland Browns W 16–6 4–7 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 13 Jacksonville Jaguars W 30–17 5–7 Reliant Stadium Recap 14 December 7 at Green Bay Packers W 24–21 6–7 Lambeau Field Recap 15 December 14 Tennessee Titans W 13–12 7–7 Reliant Stadium Recap 16 December 21 at Oakland Raiders L 16–27 7–8 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 17 December 28 Chicago Bears W 31–24 8–8 Reliant Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Regular season results
Week 1: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Texans began their 2008 campaign on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the first quarter, Houston trailed early as Steelers RB Willie Parker got a 7-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Texans continued to trail as Parker got a 13-yard TD run, while QB Ben Roethlisberger completed a 13-yard TD pass to WR Hines Ward. Houston ended the half with kicker Kris Brown getting a 34-yard field goal. In the third quarter, the Texans continued to trail as Parker got a 4-yard TD run, while Roethlisberger and Ward hooked up with each other again on a 16-yard TD pass. In the fourth quarter, Houston replied with QB Matt Schaub completing a 14-yard TD pass to WR Kevin Walter. Pittsburgh responded with kicker Jeff Reed nailing a 44-yard field goal. The Texans closed out the scoring with a game with a 4-yard TD run by Schaub.
With the loss, Houston began its season at 0–1.
Week 2: Bye Week The Texans were originally scheduled to play the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, but due to structural damage to Reliant Stadium by Hurricane Ike, the game was postponed until Week 10. This allowed both Houston and Baltimore to take their bye week.
Week 3: at Tennessee Titans
Coming off their unexpected bye week, the Texans flew to LP Field for a Week 3 AFC South duel with the Tennessee Titans. In the first quarter, Houston struck first with kicker Kris Brown getting a 44-yard field goal. The Titans responded with RB LenDale White getting a 2-yard TD run. The Texans answered with Brown kicking a 24-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Tennessee increased its lead with QB Kerry Collins completing a 9-yard TD pass to TE Bo Scaife. The Texans answered with rookie RB Steve Slaton getting a 6-yard TD run, but the PAT failed. The Titans closed out the first half scoring with White's 1-yard TD run.
In the third quarter, Tennessee added onto its lead with kicker Rob Bironas nailing a 44-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Titans sealed the win with CB Cortland Finnegan returning an interception 99 yards for a touchdown.
With the loss, Houston fell to 0–2.
Week 4: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Still searching for their first win of the year, the Texans flew to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for a Week 4 AFC South duel with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the first quarter, Houston trailed early as Jaguars FB Montell Owens took a fake punt and ran 41 yards for a touchdown. The Texans got on the board with kicker Kris Brown getting a 27-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Houston took the lead as QB Matt Schaub completed a 30-yard TD pass to rookie RB Steve Slaton. Jacksonville ended the half with kicker Josh Scobee getting a 46-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, the Jaguars retook the lead with QB David Garrard completing a 16-yard TD pass to WR Matt Jones. The Texans tied the game with Schaub completing a 5-yard TD pass to WR Kevin Walter. In the fourth quarter, Jacksonville responded with Scobee's 40-yard field goal. Houston retook the lead with Schaub hooking up with Walter again on an 8-yard TD pass. However, the Jaguars got the lead again as Garrard got a 5-yard TD run. The Texans tied game on Brown's 47-yard field goal. However, in overtime, Jacksonville sealed Houston's fate as Scobee nailed the game-winning 37-yard field goal.
With the loss, the Texans fell to 0–3.
Week 5: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Hoping to rebound from their divisional road loss to the Jaguars, the Texans finally got to play their home opener as they played a Week 5 AFC South duel with the Indianapolis Colts. Due to an illness, QB Matt Schaub was unable to play, allowing backup QB Sage Rosenfels to get the start.
In the first quarter, Houston trailed early as Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri got a 46-yard field goal, along with RB Joseph Addai getting a 1-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Texans responded with rookie RB Steve Slaton getting a 1-yard TD run, kicker Kris Brown getting a 37-yard field goal, and Rosenfels completing a 5-yard TD pass to WR Andre Johnson. In the third quarter, Houston increased its lead with Brown nailing a 43-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Texans continued its run with Slaton getting a 1-yard TD run, expanding their lead to 17 points. What followed went into the NFL history books, as Sage Rosenfels fumbled twice and threw two interceptions to blow the biggest lead inside of 5 minutes in NFL history. The key play was known as the 'Rosencopter' play, when on third-and-eight, Rosenfels opted to try to hurdle a defender rather than sliding short of the first down. Gary Brackett recovered the fumble for a 58-yard touchdown, and Rosenfels was never the same afterwards, turning the ball over twice more. With the disappointing loss, Houston fell to 0–4.
Week 6: vs. Miami Dolphins
Coming off a heartbreaking home loss to the Colts, the Texans stayed at home for a Week 6 duel with the Miami Dolphins. In the first quarter, Houston trailed early as Dolphins QB Chad Pennington completed a 53-yard TD pass to RB Patrick Cobbs. The Texans responded with kicker Kris Brown getting a 27-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Miami added onto its lead as Pennington completed an 80-yard TD pass to Cobbs. Houston answered with Brown kicking a 33-yard field goal and WR Jacoby Jones returning a punt 70 yards for a touchdown.
In the third quarter, the Texans took the lead with QB Matt Schaub completing a 12-yar TD pass to WR Andre Johnson, but the Dolphins replied with RB Ricky Williams getting a 5-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, Houston regained the lead as Brown got a 42-yard field goal, yet Miami struck back RB Ronnie Brown got a 6-yard TD run. The Texans got the last laugh as Schaub got the game-winning 3-yard TD run (with a failed 2-point conversion).
With the thrilling win, Houston won its first game of the season and improved to 1–4.
Week 7: vs. Detroit Lions
Coming off their last-second win over the Dolphins, the Texans continued their home stand with a Week 7 interconference duel with the winless Detroit Lions. In the first quarter, Houston drew first blood as QB Matt Schaub completed a 2-yard TD pass to TE Owen Daniels, along with RB Ahman Green getting a 1-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Texans increased their lead as rookie RB Steve Slaton got a 1-yard TD run. The Lions responded with kicker Jason Hanson getting a 54-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, Detroit tried to catch up as RB Kevin Smith got a 26-yard TD run. Houston answered with Schaub hooking up with Daniels again on a 1-yard TD pass. In the fourth quarter, the Lions tried to rally as QB Dan Orlovsky completed a 96-yard TD pass to WR Calvin Johnson, along with Hanson nailing a 54-yard field goal. The Texans' defense stiffened for the victory.
With the win, Houston improved to 2–4.
Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Coming off their win over the Lions, the Texans closed out their four-game home stand against the winless Cincinnati Bengals. In the first quarter, Houston drew first blood as WR Jacoby Jones returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown. The Bengals responded with kicker Shayne Graham getting a 43-yard field goal. The Texans increased their lead as QB Matt Schaub completed a 6-yard TD pass to WR David Anderson. Cincinnati closed out the half as Graham nailed a 32-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, Houston began to pull away as Schaub completed a 7-yard and a 39-yard TD pass to WR Kevin Walter. In the fourth quarter, the Texans closed out their home stand in style with rookie RB Steve Slaton getting a 20-yard TD run.
With the win, not only did Houston improve to 3–4, but they won three straight games for the first time in franchise history.
Week 9: at Minnesota Vikings
Coming off their home win over the Bengals, the Texans flew to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for a Week 9 interconference duel with the Minnesota Vikings. In the first quarter, Houston trailed early as Vikings RB Adrian Peterson got a 1-yard TD run. The Texans responded with CB Jacques Reeves returning an interception 44 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Minnesota answered with QB Gus Frerotte completing an 8-yard TD pass to WR Sidney Rice and a 49-yard TD pass to WR Bernard Berrian.
In the third quarter, Houston tried to rally as QB Sage Rosenfels completed a 3-yard TD pass to WR David Anderson. In the fourth quarter, the Vikings replied with Frerotte completing a 25-yard TD pass to TE Visanthe Shiancoe. The Texans tried to come back as Rosenfels completed a 14-yard TD pass to WR Andre Johnson. However, the Vikings' defense stiffened for the win.
With the loss, Houston fell to 3–5.