Texans Hand Bears Loss, Colts Fall

By ESPN

The huge offseason investment the Houston Texans made in Brock Osweiler paid immediate dividends in the season opener.

Osweiler threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns in his debut with Houston to lead the Texans and their revamped offense to a 23-14 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

"I think he's everything that we thought he would be," Texans owner Bob McNair said.

Osweiler, who signed to a $72 million contract from Denver in the offseason, was helped by an offense filled with playmakers.

"There was nothing about the game that was perfect but we just kept playing ... and we made the big plays when we needed to," Osweiler said.

He completed passes to eight different receivers, led by rookie first-round pick Will Fuller, who became the first player in franchise history to have 100 yards receiving in a debut with 107 and a touchdown. DeAndre Hopkins added 54 yards and a score and running back Lamar Miller had 106 yards rushing in his first game with the Texans.

Osweiler's day started with a hiccup when he threw an interception on the first drive, but soon got going and looked comfortable after that.

Houston trailed by 1 point entering the fourth quarter before Osweiler found Fuller on a short pass and he scampered 18 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-14.

The Texans added a 38-yard field goal later in the quarter to make it 23-14.

Chicago's Jay Cutler threw for 216 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but was also sacked five times and hurried several others on a day when linebackers Whitney Mercilus and 2014 top overall pick Jadeveon Clowney led the pass rush.

Lions 39, Colts 35

Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater just wanted a second chance Sunday.

Matthew Stafford ensured he got it -- and Prater delivered with a 43-yard field goal that gave the Lions a wild 39-35 victory at Indianapolis.

Just four minutes earlier, after Stafford had broken a 28-28 tie with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick, Prater pushed the extra point wide right. So it was 34-28, opening the door for Colts quarterback Andrew Luck to pull off another comeback.

Instead, Prater got a shot at redemption and the Lions never doubted him.

"To see him bounce back is huge," coach Jim Caldwell said. "When you miss like that, the second one can be difficult. But he has an unusual focusing ability."

Stafford played brilliantly, going 31 of 39 for 340 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Somehow, Luck nearly rallied the Colts from an 18-point deficit to another last-minute victory when he threw a 6-yard TD pass to Jack Doyle with 37 seconds to go. It rekindled memories of the winning TD pass he threw at Detroit four years ago.

Adam Vinatieri's extra point gave Indy a 35-34 lead.

But against Indy's depleted secondary, Stafford found receivers who turned short catches into big gains. Four plays later, Prater got his chance, and he hit it right.

"We made a lot of plays, and we just ran out of gas (on defense)," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "We just couldn't make that one more play that we needed to make."

Sunday, September 11 Scoreboard

Green Bay 27, Jacksonville 23

Baltimore 13, Buffalo 7

Houston 23, Chicago 14

Philadelphia 29, Cleveland 10

Tampa Bay 31, Atlanta 24

Minnesota 25, Tennessee 16

Cincinnati 23, New York Jets 22

Oakland 35, New Orleans 34

Kansas City 33, San Diego 27 (OT)

Seattle 12, Miami 10

Detroit 39, Indianapolis 35

New York Giants 20, Dallas 19

New England 23,  Arizona 21

Monday, September 12 Schedule (All Times Central)

Pittsburgh at Washington, 6:10 p.m.

Los Angeles at San Francisco, 9:20 p.m.

Thursday, September 15 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Jets at Buffalo, 7:25 p.m.

Sunday, September 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, noon

Tennessee at Detroit, noon

Baltimore at Cleveland, noon

Dallas at Washington, noon

New Orleans at New York Giants, noon

San Francisco at Carolina, noon

Miami at New England, noon

Kansas City at Houston, noon

Seattle at Los Angeles, 3:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Arizona, 3:05 p.m.

Jacksonville at San Diego, 3:25 p.m.

Atlanta at Oakland, 3:25 p.m.

Indianapolis at Denver, 3:25 p.m.

Green Bay at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, September 19 Schedule (Time Central)

Philadelphia at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.