Houston, TX

Arian Foster covered 140 yards on 32 carries with one TD as the Houston Texans punched their ticket to the next round with a 19-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals Saturday at Reliant Stadium.

The Texas moved to the next round of the AFC playoffs for the second consecutive year, riding on a stellar effort from their starting running back.

Foster, who covered 1,424 yards on 351 carries this season, fueled the offensive charge for the Texans, who finished the regular-season at 12-4.

After taking a 9-7 lead at halftime, the Texans padded their advantage to 16-7, on a one-yard run from Foster at the 10:31 mark of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter featured tight defense from both teams but the Texans went ahead 19-10, thanks to Shayne Graham's 24-yard field goal kick.

Bengals kicker Josh Brown tried to make things interesting with a late 47-yard FG to cut the deficit to six, 19-13, with nine minutes remaining.

However, the Texans defense stepped up big time and preserved the lead despite comeback bids from the Bengals.

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub covered 262 yards on 29-for-38 passing with one interception while Bengals signal-caller John Dalton recorded 127 yards on 14-for-30 passing with one interception.

With the win, Houston arranged an AFC second-round showdown with the New England Patriots on January 13 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

 

 

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