Postgame notes: Texans 19, Bengals 13

Courtesy of the Texans’ media relations staff, notes from Saturday at Reliant Stadium, where the Texans beat the Cincinnati Bengals 19-13 in the Wild Card round of the playoffs:

THE WIN

• Improved Houston’s all-time postseason record to 2-1 overall and 2-0 at Reliant Stadium.

• Advanced the Texans into the AFC Divisional Playoffs for the second consecutive season.

• Improved Houston’s all-time record against Cincinnati to 5-3 overall, 2-0 in the postseason and 3-1 all-time at Reliant Stadium.

THE TEXANS

• Won the time of possession battle for the first time in team postseason history and the 13^th time this season overall, holding the ball for 38:49.

• Scored first for the 10^th time this season and for the first time in team postseason history when they took a 3-0 lead on K Shayne Graham’s 48-yard field goal in the first quarter.

• Led after the first quarter for the first time in team playoff history and for the ninth time overall this year.

• Led at halftime for the second time in team postseason history and for the 11^th time overall this season. Houston led Cincinnati 17-10 in the 2012 AFC Wild Card Playoff on 1/7/12.

• Led after three quarters for the second time in team postseason history and for the 11^th time overall this season.

THE TEXANS OFFENSE

• Gained 420 yards of total offense in the game and averaged 5.5 yards per play. Over the last eight weeks of the 2012 season, Cincinnati’s defense had held its opponents to an average of 282.0 yards per game, which ranked second in the NFL over that time frame.

• Outgained the Bengals 158-80 on the ground. It was the third consecutive postseason game in which the Texans outrushed their opponents. Houston improved to 3-0 all-time in postseason and 12-1 overall this season when outrushing the opposition.

• Ran the ball 39 times in the game. It was the 12^th game this season in which Houston ran the ball at least 30 times, and the Texans improved to 12-0 in those games. Under head coach Gary Kubiak, Houston improved to 45-5, including regular season and postseason games, when rushing at least 30 times.

THE TEXANS DEFENSE

• Held Cincinnati to 198 yards of total offense, which was the fewest surrendered in team postseason history. Houston previously held Baltimore to 227 yards in the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoff (1/15/12).

• Held its opponent to fewer than 20 points for the second time in postseason play, limiting Cincinnati to 13 points. Houston improved to 2-0 in the postseason, 43-2 overall (including playoffs) under Head Coach Gary Kubiak, and 10-0 overall this season when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points.

• Did not allow the Bengals offense to convert any of its nine third-down attempts in the game. It marked the first time since the 1989 playoffs that a team did not allow a single third-down conversion. The last team to do so was the Cincinnati Bengals against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game on 1/8/89.

ILB CAMERON COLLINS

• Made his professional debut when he took the field on the opening kickoff. Collins was signed from the Texans’ practice squad on Friday, Jan. 4.

TE OWEN DANIELS

• Set a franchise postseason record with his ninth reception of the game. WR Andre Johnson caught eight passes for 111 yards in the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoff at Baltimore (1/15/12), and RB Arian Foster matched that reception total today with eight catches for 34 yards.

• Recorded the second-most receiving yards in a playoff game in team history with 91, trailing WR Andre Johnson’s 111 yards in the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoff at Baltimore (1/15/12).

• Extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 84, including regular season and postseason games, with an 8-yard catch in the first quarter.

RB ARIAN FOSTER

• Became the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 100 yards in each of his first three career playoff games. Foster finished the game with 140 yards on 32 carries. Overall, he was the eighth man in League history to run for more than 100 yards in three consecutive playoff games.

• Has rushed for 425 yards through his first three playoff games, the most by any player in NFL history through his first three career postseason games. The previous three-game high was 383 yards by Jacksonville RB Fred Taylor following the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

• Set the team postseason record with 32 rushing attempts, bettering his own previous high of 27 in the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoff at Baltimore (1/15/12).

• Caught eight passes in the game, which was tied for the second-most in a game in Texans postseason history behind TE Owen Daniels’ nine catches today. WR Andre Johnson caught eight passes for 111 yards in the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoff at Baltimore (1/151/2).

• Scored his fourth career touchdown in postseason play when he dove into the end zone from a yard away in the third quarter. Foster has scored at least one touchdown in all three of his career postseason games.

K SHAYNE GRAHAM

• Connected on a 48-yard field goal in the first quarter. It was the longest postseason field goal in his career and was also the longest in Texans history in postseason play. Graham’s previous long in the playoffs was a 35-yard kick on 1/16/11 in an AFC Divisional Playoff as a New England Patriot against the New York Jets. The previous long in Texans history was a 40-yarder by K Neil Rackers at Baltimore on 1/15/12 in an AFC Divisional Playoff.

• Set a team postseason record and postseason career high with four field goals in the game. K Neil Rackers hit two field goals in the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoff at Baltimore (1/15/12). Graham previously kicked two field goals in the 2011 AFC Divisional Playoff vs. the New York Jets (1/16/11) as a member of the New England Patriots.

• Set the franchise single-game scoring record with 13 points, topping the 12-point effort of RB Arian Foster in the 2012 AFC Wild Card Playoff vs. Cincinnati (1/7/12).

WR ANDRE JOHNSON

• Extended his franchise-record streak of consecutive games with a reception to 99, including regular season and postseason games, with a 19-yard catch in the first quarter.

• Finished the game with four receptions for 62 yards

CB JOHNATHAN JOSEPH

• Intercepted his second career pass in postseason play when he picked off Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton in the third quarter. Joseph also had an interception against Cincinnati in the 2012 AFC Wild Card Playoff (1/7/12).

OLB BROOKS REED

• Sacked Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton for no gain in the fourth quarter, raising his career postseason sack total to 4.5. He has recorded at least one sack in all three of his career postseason games.

QB MATT SCHAUB

• Made his playoff debut as a starter. He played briefly in the 2005 NFC Championship Game with the Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia (1/23/05) but did not record any statistics.

• Set franchise postseason single-game records for most completions (29), attempts (38) and yards (262). The previous marks were 17 completions, 35 attempts and 184 yards by T.J. Yates at Baltimore in the 2012 AFC Divisional Playoff (1/15/12).

DE J.J. WATT

• Sacked Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton for a 9-yard loss in the first quarter, raising his career postseason sack total to 4.5. Watt has recorded at least one sack in all three of his career postseason games.

• Led the team with five tackles, all of which were solo stops, and recorded two tackles for loss and two passes defensed.

MISCELLANEOUS STATS

• Total paid attendance was a franchise-record 71,738. The previous high was 71,725 in the 2012 AFC Wild Card Playoff vs. Cincinnati (1/7/12).

• The following players made their playoff debuts in the game: G Brandon Brooks, DE Jared Crick, TE Garrett Graham, CB Brandon Harris, T Ryan Harris, G Ben Jones, P Donnie Jones, WR Keshawn Martin, OLB Whitney Mercilus, S Eddie Pleasant and WR DeVier Posey.

• Inactive players for the Texans were G Antoine Caldwell, CB Roc Carmichael, FB Tyler Clutts, T Andrew Gardner, NT Terrell McClain, CB Stanford Routt and G Cody White.

• Captains for the Texans were ILB Tim Dobbins, WR Andre Johnson, FS Shiloh Keo, C Chris Myers, QB Matt Schaub, DE Antonio Smith and DE J.J. Watt. Schaub, Johnson and Smith went to midfield for the pregame coin toss.

• The Texans won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.