Texans

The Houston Texans turned to their kids, then to their stars, to win the first playoff appearance in franchise history, a 31-10 rout of the bungling Cincinnati Bengals. Rookie J.J. Watt's leaping interception return for a touchdown late in the first half propelled the Texans in Saturday's AFC wild-card game. Third-string quarterback T.J. Yates, another rookie pressed into action, threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, and Arian Foster followed with his second touchdown of the game, a 42-yard run in the fourth quarter, to finish off the Bengals (9-8)

The Houston Texans will hire Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak to take over the worst team in the league and help decide what to do with the first pick in the draft. Texans owner Bob McNair said during a news conference last night that the hiring won't be completed until later in the week. The Texans couldn't negotiate a contract with Kubiak until the Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs. McNair's announcement came about an hour after Denver lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game.

The Houston Texans know the ultimate success for most NFL teams lies at quarterback. So when the Texans make the first selection in the NFL draft on April 20, they will choose Fresno State quarterback David Carr. That announcement, unusual in that it came more than two weeks before the draft, was announced yesterday by owner Bob McNair, although the decision was made by general manager Charley Casserly and coach Dom Capers. "To win, you have to have a good quarterback. Charley and his people have looked at this long and hard," McNair said.

INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Wayne will always remember last night's catch. The man with the expiring contract caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky with 19 seconds left, giving the Colts their only lead of the game in a 19-16 victory over AFC South champion Houston. It's the second straight win for the Colts (2-13), who will have to fight off St. Louis and Minnesota for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Orlovsky, who played the last two seasons with Houston, also won his second straight game after losing his first nine NFL starts.

HOUSTON - Andre Johnson turned upfield, fell awkwardly forward and clutched the back of his right leg. In past seasons, an injury to their All-Pro receiver would've doomed the Texans. That was before they had Arian Foster. Foster rushed for 155 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown after Johnson left with a hamstring injury, leading the Texans to a 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. "I go into every contest thinking that I'm the go-to guy," Foster said.

LANDOVER, Md. - Neil Rackers kicked a 35-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 24 seconds left in overtime Sunday as Houston edged the Washington Redskins, 30-27. The Texans' Matt Schaub passed for 497 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Was?FG Gano 41, 9:37. Was?FG Gano 27, 5:48. Hou?Jones 5 pass from Schaub (Rackers kick), 14:56. Was?Portis 1 run (Gano kick), 12:29. Was?Portis 1 run (Gano kick), 1:20. Hou?FG Rackers 47, 9:22. Was?Cooley 22 pass from McNabb (Gano kick)

Last week, an agent for Eric Moulds said the wide receiver wanted to play for the Eagles. That, obviously, didn't work out, and yesterday, he agreed to a contract with Houston and said the Texans have worked out a trade to acquire him from Buffalo. Moulds, who had the Bills' permission to seek a trade, agreed to a 4-year, $14 million contract that includes a $5 million signing bonus. It's not clear what the Texans traded to Buffalo, but it's believed to be a fourth- or fifth-round pick in this month's draft.

The Houston Texans are expected to turn to Jacksonville's first college draft pick ever as their top pick in today's expansion draft. Tony Boselli, the expansion Jaguars' No. 1 pick out of Southern California in 1995, probably will be called on to help build another expansion team. "Boselli is a cornerstone," Texans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer said. "He will be a trivia question if we take him. He'd be the only guy ever picked by two expansion teams. " Boselli, selected for the Pro Bowl five times, played in only three games last season because of shoulder injuries.

The Houston Texans, the NFL's newest franchise, have signed former Packer Matt Snider for their inaugural season next year, Snider's agent said yesterday. The team also is talking to Kevin Williams, a former starting free safety for the New York Jets. Snider, a fullback, played mostly on special teams with the Packers. He had no carries for no yards and no receptions. His agent, Joe Linta, said he signed a one-year deal. Texans spokesman Tony Wyllie said the team plans to hold a news conference tomorrow to introduce the first 10 players signed by the expansion club.

HOUSTON - The Tennessee Titans' regular-season finale came down to a two-point conversion. Their playoff hopes officially ended a few hours later. Matt Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes, and Tennessee staved off Houston's last-minute rally in a 23-22 victory Sunday. Tennessee (9-7) earned its first winning record since 2008 in Mike Munchak's first season, but its postseason fate depended on the outcome of later games in Cincinnati, Oakland, and Denver. When the Broncos lost to Kansas City, the Titans were knocked out of contention.

It's amazing how quickly an athlete goes from unwanted to desired in the NFL. Running back Jonathan Grimes, the former Paul VI and William and Mary standout, experienced this quick transition after the recent NFL draft. Grimes enjoyed a spectacular career at William and Mary, becoming the program's all-time leader in rushing yards (4,541), all-purpose yards (7,955), kickoff-return yards (2,289), and rushing attempts (936). Yet possibly because he excelled only in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA)

FORNEY, Texas - As a twister bore down on her neighborhood, Sherry Enochs grabbed the three young children in her home and hid in her bathtub. The winds swirled and snatched away two of the children. Her home collapsed around her. Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt. Enochs, 53, stood Wednesday amid the wreckage of what was once her home in the North Texas city of Forney, among the hardest hit by a series of tornadoes that barreled through one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas a day earlier.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Max Pons is already anticipating the anxiety he'll feel when the heavy steel gate shuts behind him, leaving his home isolated on a strip of land between America's border fence and the violence raging across the Rio Grande in Mexico. For the last year, the manager of a sprawling preserve on the southern tip of Texas has been comforted by a gap in the rust-colored fence that gave him a quick escape route north in case of emergency. Now the U.S. government is installing the first gates to fill in this part of the fence along the Southwest border, and Pons admits he's pondering drastic scenarios.

What appeared to be a mega-flap in the Baltimore locker room on Monday has subsided into a feel-good, "we're all in this together," love fest. Joe Flacco on Wednesday responded to teammate Ed Reed's comments that the quarterback was "rattled" in Sunday's playoff game and "just didn't look like he had a hold on the offense," by saying "it's not that big of a deal. " Reed later told ESPN he had talked about his comments with Flacco and said there were no problems. But there sure looked like problems on Monday, when Reed told Sirius NFL Radio that Flacco seemed over-matched against Houston's aggressive defense.

BALTIMORE - The Ravens are like Joe Flacco's Fu Manchu mustache. They aren't exactly a thing a beauty, but they get the job done. In an AFC divisional game that surely won't leave a lasting imprint in the annuals of the NFL, Baltimore scraped by the Houston Texans, 20-13, in the same manner as many of its victories over 17 years of existence. The Ravens prevailed behind the strength of their defense - albeit an aging one - and in spite of mediocre quarterback play.

BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans are quite content to run against the grain in the pass-happy NFL. Baltimore relies heavily on running back Ray Rice and a stingy defensive unit led by Pro Bowl linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. Houston depends on the rushing prowess of Arian Foster and the NFL's second-ranked defense. Neither team intends to alter that approach in Sunday's playoff game, so the one that stays true to form the longest likely will advance to the AFC championship game.

SATURDAY Saints at 49ers, 4:30 p.m. (Fox29) Broncos at Patriots, 8 p.m. (CBS3) SUNDAY Texans at Ravens, 1 p.m. (CBS3) Giants at Packers, 4:30 p.m. (Fox29)

Saints (-3) over 49ERS: Give Jim Harbaugh credit for taking San Francisco from 6-10 to 13-3 in his first season. But sit down while we put the Niners season under the microscope. They won the NFC West, the worst division in the NFL. Big Deal! Beating the Rams, Seahawks and Cardinals is not impressing me. OK, the 49ers have a solid running game, an OK quarterback in Alex Smith, and a very, very good defense. Lemme go back to the QB slot. Smith has had big problems in three games against New Orleans.

DREW BREES and the New Orleans Saints picked up right where they left off in the regular season: piling up points and yards in record-breaking fashion. Brees threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns, and New Orleans used a strong second half to roll to a 45-28 NFC wild-card victory over the visiting Detroit Lions on Saturday night. It marked the third straight game the Saints scored 45 points. New Orleans broke the postseason mark for total yards with 626, beating the record set 49 years ago. "We were pulling out all the stops," Brees said.