Houston Texans

Adrian Peterson took a giant leap toward Eric Dickerson's rushing record Sunday, pounding the St. Louis Rams for 212 rushing yards, including an 82-yard touchdown. The Minnesota Vikings running back now has 1,812 yards on the ground this season, topping his previous career high of 1,760. He is now just 294 yards away from the single-season rushing record. Last week Peterson told Peter King of Sports Illustrated that he was eyeing the record of 2,105 yards set by Dickerson in 1984.

With less than a minute to go and the end zone in sight, Byron Leftwich again had the game in his capable hands. Surprisingly, Leftwich let it slip away. Demarcus Faggins returned Leftwich's errant pass 43 yards for a touchdown with 42 seconds left, giving the host Houston Texans a 20-6 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. "I just knew with all my heart we would find a way to put this thing into overtime," Leftwich said. "This is the first time that we've ended up on this end of it."

Maybe now the Houston Texans won't hear so much about the team they replaced. David Carr threw for 266 yards and a touchdown, and Kris Brown kicked field goals of 21 and 50 yards, as the Texans beat the Tennessee Titans, 20-10, Sunday for the first time since the Titans moved from Texas. "This is definitely a big game for the Houston fans," Carr said. "I wanted to get this ... for the fans as much as anybody else. Hopefully, they're cheering back home.

A humble second-year franchise playing at highly touted Miami, the Houston Texans were the biggest underdogs of the NFL's opening weekend. That made them mad. So did the Dolphins' trash-talking during pregame warmups. "One of their players said, 'I'll see you after today's practice,' " Houston's Jabar Gaffney said. "That was their thinking -- they were looking at us like this was just a little practice." The Dolphins can only wish the game had been just a practice.

The beers at Houston's Reliant Stadium this season won't necessarily taste great, but they will be less filling. In an effort to cut down heavy drinking at games, the Houston Texans quietly reduced the size of beer cups from 24 ounces to 20 while keeping the price -- $7.75 -- the same. Tony Wyllie, the Texans' vice president for communications, said the move to a smaller cup was also a way to avoid charging fans a higher price during difficult economic times. "If we'd served 24 ounces this year, the price would be higher," Wyllie told the Houston Chronicle.

The Houston Texans got their first look Friday at a shopping list of 135 players left unprotected for the Feb. 18 expansion draft. And as expected, the other teams didn't do the NFL's 32nd franchise any favors. Sure, the Texans would love to have three-time all-pro left tackle Tony Boselli of Jacksonville or seven-time all-pro offensive lineman Willie Roaf of New Orleans.

They are hoping to do the Texas two-step ? the first divisional sweep of the Indianapolis Colts since Tennessee did it in 2002 ? but the Houston Texans need to first find their defense. Although they are tied for first with the Colts in the AFC South at 4-2, the Texans are ranked last in total defense, giving up 410.5 yards per game. They are also last against the pass, a frightening prospect for them heading into a game against Peyton Manning. Houston's defense called a players-only meeting last week, a move usually reserved for backs-against-the-wall situations.

The Houston Texans know Chris Johnson. The Tennessee Titans running back trampled them to the tune of 197 yards earlier this season. The Texans are just hoping Johnson doesn't recognize them . That's because Houston figures its run defense is a lot better than it was in Week 2, when Johnson scored three touchdowns and racked up 284 yards from scrimmage. Over their last six games, the Texans have yielded an NFL-best average of 60.5 yards on the ground. "To me, they're getting better and better," Texans Coach Gary Kubiak said of his defense.

The Houston Texans came to Jacksonville thinking about piecing together their first winning streak. They left without the win, without a point and claiming a newfound respect for the Jaguars. Tony Brackens had two sacks Sunday to lead Jacksonville's improving defense to a 27-0 win, handing the Texans their first shutout and turning rookie quarterback Dave Ragone's debut into a total dud. The Texans (5-8) played without starting quarterback David Carr and running back Domanick Davis.