Tom Savage throws for two touchdowns as Houston beats Arizona 31-21

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 19, 2017) Tom Savage (No. 3, shown right) earned the second win of his professional career as the Houston Texans (4-6) downed the Arizona Cardinals by the score of 31-21 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Savage completed 22-of-32 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball one time and was intercepted once.

The Texans scored first, 58 seconds into the second quarter, when Savage connected with Lamar Miller on a seven yard pass for the touchdown. Ka'imi Fairbairn kicked the extra point to cap the 89-yard, 12-play drive that lasted 6:59. The drive was the second possession of the game for Houston. The Cardinals came right back and scored eight minutes later. The Texans, on a  second-and-five play on the own 24-yard line, Savage was sacked by rookie defensive end Budda Baker, causing the Texan quarterback to fumble. Baker, who played his college ball at Washington, recovered the fumble. The Cardinals moved the ball the 17 yards, in two plays, to score their first touchdown. Blaine Gabbert completed a 20 yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald for six points. Phil Dawson converted the kicking extra point to tie the score at seven.

Savage turned over the ball again in the second quarter with 2:32 remaining in the first half, on a pass intended for Stephen Anderson. Patrick Peterson caught the off-target pass, giving the Cardinals the ball on the Texan 15-yard line. Two plays later, Gabbert connected Ricky Seals-Jones for the score. Again, Dawson tacked on the extra point to give Arizona a 14-7 with 1:48 left in the first half. The Texans took possession and drove the the field in nine plays to kick a 34-yard field goal; cutting the Cardinals' lead to 14-10 at the half.

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

The Texans took the lead just short of four minutes into the third quarter when Savage hit DeAndre Hopkins (No. 10, shown left) deep on the left side for a 28-yard touchdown pass. Fairbairn added the extra point to give the Texans a 17-14 lead. Arizona rallied right back and scored seven minutes later on a Gabbert to Seals-Jones 28-yard pass and Dawson extra point. They added two more scored in the fourth quarter; a three-yard run and a 34-yard run; both by D'Onte Foreman. Fairbairn kicked both extra points to give him seven points for the day.

Forman carried the ball 1o times for 65 yards while Lamar Miller added 61 yards to the Texans' total on 22 carries and caught four passes for 22 yards and one TD. He currently leads the Texans with 162 carries for 604 yards and two touchdowns. Hopkins caught four passes for 76 yards and his single touchdown; pushing his season total to 62 receptions for 879 yards and nine TDs.

The Texans are averaging 26.7 points per game, which is sixth in the league. They are also averaging 350 total yards (12th), 221 passing yards (17th), and 128.5 rushing yards (6th). They will hit the road for their next two games; Baltimore on Monday, November 27 and Tennessee on Sunday, December 10. Their next home game will be against San Francisco on Sunday, December 10.