HOUSTON -- For the first time in a decade, the New Orleans Saints finished a game without scoring a touchdown.
Credit J.J. Watt and a continually improving Houston Texans defense for that.
Houston's offense got off to a fast start for a change and the defense did the rest to help the Texans cruise to a 24-6 victory over the Saints on Sunday.
New Orleans (4-7) dropped its third consecutive on a day when the team didn't score a touchdown for the first time since 2005, snapping a streak of 155 games and Drew Brees' streak of games with a touchdown pass ended at 45.
The last time the Saints didn't score a touchdown was Dec. 24, 2005, against Detroit and Brees' last game without a touchdown pass came on Nov. 29, 2012 against Atlanta. His streak was the fifth-longest in NFL history.
"That's a long time," Watt said. "That's a very high-powered offense with a very good quarterback and very good coaching staff ... so it's everybody doing their job. Everybody up front, on the back end executing their assignment, knowing what they're supposed to do and doing it very well."
Watt had 7 quarterback hits and 2 sacks to push his NFL lead to 13 ½. He would have had another, but Brees threw the ball into the turf as Watt wrapped him up and was penalized for intentional grounding in the second quarter.
"There were a number of losses that frustrate me," New Orleans Coach Sean Payton said. "This was not the most frustrating ever [but] it's disappointing to lose a game like that, and it's definitely disappointing not to score a touchdown."
Brian Hoyer, who finished with two touchdowns, went 7 for 7 on the opening drive. He capped it with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Griffin to give Houston a score on the opening possession for the first time this season.
The Texans (6-5) have won four in a row for the first time since winning six consecutive in 2012 and remain tied with Indianapolis for first place in the AFC South. The string of victories came after they were embarrassed in a 44-26 loss at Miami.
"We just had enough of playing like that," linebacker Brian Cushing said. "We started simplifying things and playing hard. Just had a bad taste in or mouth from a couple of those games and just internally promised each other it wouldn't happen again."
Brees was 25 of 44 for 228 yards. The Saints converted just 3 of 12 third-down attempts.
"You get in third and long against these guys, you are asking for trouble because obviously they dial up the pass rush," Brees said.
It was the first game since defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was fired and replaced by Dennis Allen. But the change didn't lead to better results and the Saints gave up several big plays.
Hoyer was 21 of 27 with an interception in his return after missing last week's game with a concussion.
An 8-yard touchdown run by Alfred Blue extended Houston's lead to 21-6 in the third. Griffin grabbed a short pass in the middle of the field and dashed for a 37-yard gain on that drive.
Kareem Jackson, who returned after missing four games with an ankle injury, intercepted Brees at the goal line in the third quarter and returned it 50 yards. He might have gone all the way, but Jadeveon Clowney, who was downfield blocking, got in his way, allowing the defense to catch up and bring him down.
"I didn't know if I was going to block back or block in front," Clowney said. "They were closing in on me real fast ... I was stuck."
The Texans pushed the lead to 14-0 when Hoyer threw a shovel pass to Cecil Shorts for a touchdown on Houston's second drive.
Hoyer completed his first 11 passes before he was intercepted by Jairus Byrd. The Saints couldn't move the ball and had to punt.
The Saints cut the lead to 14-3 on a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter. New Orleans trailed 14-6 at halftime after a career-long 57-yard field goal by Kai Forbath.
BENGALS 31, RAMS 7 Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes -- two of them to A.J. Green -- and the host Bengals ended their brief slide. After dropping two prime-time games, the Bengals (9-2) were back in sync against a team that struggles to score. The Bengals' 31 points equaled the second-most against St. Louis this season. The Rams (4-7) have dropped four in a row. Nick Foles returned as the starter and threw three interceptions, including one that Leon Hall returned 19 yards for a touchdown. Dalton was 20 of 27 for 233 yards with touchdowns of 9 and 18 yards to Green. Tyler Eifert also had his NFL-leading 12th touchdown catch.
VIKINGS 20, FALCONS 10 Adrian Peterson ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Ryan threw two more interceptions for the visiting Vikings. Bouncing back from a 30-13 loss to Green Bay, Minnesota (8-3) jumped ahead on Peterson's 1-yard run in the opening quarter, and clinched it when he got loose on a 35-yard scamper down the sideline with 4:15 remaining in the game. Atlanta (6-5) has lost five of its past six, including four consecutive, and is in danger of becoming one of the few teams in NFL history to start 5-0 and miss the playoffs.
CARDINALS 19, 49ERS 13 Carson Palmer ran for a go-ahead 8-yard touchdown with 2:28 left and tumbled after spiking the ball, and visiting Arizona squeaked by San Francisco. It was the Cardinals' fifth consecutive victory and first road victory in the series since September 2008. Moments earlier, Palmer fell backward as he released the ball and completed a 34-yard pass to J.J. Nelson to put Arizona on the 1. Chandler Catanzaro missed the extra-point try, and Blaine Gabbert and the 49ers (3-8) had one more chance with 2:21 left. Anquan Boldin caught an 18-yard pass on fourth-and-20 to clinch the victory for Arizona. David Johnson ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the third for the Cardinals (9-2), who have nine victories in their first 11 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
COLTS 25, BUCCANEERS 12 Matt Hasselbeck threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns and Adam Vinatieri made four more field goals for the host Colts. The Colts (6-5) won their third consecutive to remain tied atop the AFC South with Houston. Tampa Bay rookie Jameis Winston threw for 245 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked five times -- four coming during a second half in which the Bucs (5-6) were shut out. Indy took the lead for good on Hasselbeck's 9-yard TD pass to T.Y. Hilton midway through the third quarter. It extended the margin to 19-12 on Vinatieri's fourth field goal.
JETS 38, DOLPHINS 20 Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdown passes, two to Brandon Marshall, and the host Jets gained some traction in the AFC wild-card race. Fitzpatrick also connected with rookie Devin Smith and Eric Decker in New York's fourth victory in the last five meetings with Miami. The Jets (6-5) had lost four of their past five overall. Miami (4-7) has dropped four of five and is 3-4 under interim coach Dan Campbell, who took over after Joe Philbin was fired following the Dolphins' lopsided loss to the Jets in London.
RAIDERS 24, TITANS 21 Derek Carr threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Seth Roberts with 1:21 left, and visiting Oakland ended a three-game losing streak. The Raiders (5-6) handed the Titans (2-9) their ninth loss in 10 games. Tennessee had taken a 21-17 lead and thought they had a game-saving play when safety Michael Griffin broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth down. But officials flagged B.W. Webb for holding on the other side of the field. Two plays later, Carr hit Roberts for the winning touchdown. Carr finished with 330 yards and three TDs in his sixth 300-yard passing game this season.
CHARGERS 31, JAGUARS 25 Philip Rivers threw four touchdown passes, two to Antonio Gates, and the visiting Chargers (3-8) ended a six-game losing streak. Rivers passed Joe Montana (273) and tied Vinny Testaverde (275) for 11th on the NFL's TD pass list. Rivers completed 29 of 43 passes for 300 yards. He was sacked twice and had his left ankle checked in the locker room at halftime. But his TD passes were enough against the Jaguars (4-7), who failed to recover an onside kick in the closing minutes.
Sports on 11/30/2015