2012 Houston Texans season

2012 Houston Texans season
Head coach	Gary Kubiak
General manager	Rick Smith
Owner	Bob McNair
Home field	Reliant Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st AFC South
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Bengals) 19–13 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 41–28
Pro Bowlers	QB Matt Schaub RB Arian Foster WR Andre Johnson TE Owen Daniels OT Duane Brown OG Wade Smith C Chris Myers DE J. J. Watt CB Johnathan Joseph
Timeline
Previous season Next season < 2011 2013

The 2012 Houston Texans season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League and the 7th under head coach Gary Kubiak. The Texans improved on their 10–6 record from 2011, in which the team earned its first playoff berth and division title in franchise history. The Texans won their second consecutive AFC South division title, and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round of the playoffs for a second consecutive season, but were defeated by the New England Patriots in the divisional round.

2012 draft class

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	26	Whitney Mercilus	DE	Illinois
3	68[a]	DeVier Posey	WR	Ohio State
	76[b]	Brandon Brooks	OG	Miami (OH)
4	99[b]	Ben Jones	C	Georgia
	121	Keshawn Martin	WR	Michigan State
	126[c]	Jared Crick	DT	Nebraska
5	161	Randy Bullock	K	Texas A&M
6	195	Nick Mondek	OT	Purdue

Notes

^{^[a]} From Buccaneers

^{^[b]} The team traded linebacker DeMeco Ryans to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the Eagles' fourth-round selection (#99 overall; originally acquired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and swapped third-round selections with the Eagles (the Texans originally held the #88 selection).

^{^[c]} From the Patriots through the Broncos and the Buccaneers.^[1]

Staff

colspan="7" style="background: #03202F; color:white; border: 2px solid #A71930" text-align: center;" | 2012 Houston Texans staff
	Front office Founder/Chairman/CEO – Bob McNair Vice Chairman – Philip Burguières Vice Chairman – D. Cal McNair Executive Vice President/General Manager – Rick Smith President – Jamey Rootes Vice President of Football Administration – Chris Olsen Director of Pro Personnel – Brian Gardner Senior Personnel Advisor – Bobby Grier Director of College Scouting – Mike Maccagnan Head coaches Head Coach – Gary Kubiak Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Rick Dennison Quarterbacks – Karl Dorrell Running Backs – Chick Harris Wide Receivers – Larry Kirksey Assistant Wide Receivers – Marc Lubick Tight Ends – Brian Pariani Offensive Line – John Benton Assistant Offensive Line – Jim Ryan Offensive Assistant – Dan Hammerschmidt			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Wade Phillips Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line – Bill Kollar Linebackers – Reggie Herring Assistant Linebackers – Bobby King Defensive Backs – Vance Joseph Assistant Defensive Backs – Perry Carter Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Joe Marciano Strength and conditioning Head Strength and Conditioning – Cedric Smith Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Matt Schiotz

Final roster

colspan="10" style="background: #03202F; color:white; border: 2px solid #A71930" text-align: center;" | 2012 Houston Texans final roster
	Quarterbacks  8 Matt Schaub 13 T. J. Yates Running backs 86 James Casey FB/TE 40 Tyler Clutts FB 28 Justin Forsett 23 Arian Foster 44 Ben Tate Wide receivers 18 Lestar Jean 80 Andre Johnson 82 Keshawn Martin 11 DeVier Posey 83 Kevin Walter Tight ends 81 Owen Daniels 88 Garrett Graham		Offensive linemen 79 Brandon Brooks G 76 Duane Brown T 62 Antoine Caldwell G 66 Andrew Gardner G 68 Ryan Harris T 60 Ben Jones C 55 Chris Myers C 75 Derek Newton T 74 Wade Smith G 67 Cody White G Defensive linemen 95 Shaun Cody NT 93 Jared Crick DE 97 Terrell McClain NT 92 Earl Mitchell NT 94 Antonio Smith DE 99 J. J. Watt DE		Linebackers 90 Mister Alexander ILB 98 Connor Barwin OLB 50 Bryan Braman OLB 49 Cameron Collins ILB 53 Bradie James ILB 59 Whitney Mercilus OLB 57 Jesse Nading OLB 58 Brooks Reed OLB 54 Barrett Ruud ILB Defensive backs 22 Alan Ball CB 20 Roc Carmichael CB 27 Quintin Demps SS 26 Brandon Harris CB 25 Kareem Jackson CB 24 Johnathan Joseph CB 31 Shiloh Keo FS 38 Danieal Manning SS 35 Eddie Pleasant SS 29 Glover Quin FS 30 Stanford Routt CB Special teams 17 Shayne Graham K  5 Donnie Jones P 46 Jon Weeks LS		Reserve lists  4 Randy Bullock K (IR) 78 Rashad Butler OT (IR) 56 Brian Cushing ILB (IR) 52 Tim Dobbins ILB (IR) 45 Keyaron Fox ILB (IR) 91 Ra'Shon Harris NT (IR) 72 David Hunter DE (IR) 96 Tim Jamison DE (IR) -- Dwight Jones WR (Did Not Report) 21 Brice McCain CB (IR-DFR) 51 Darryl Sharpton ILB (IR) Practice squad 85 Logan Brock TE (NF-Inj.) 65 Keith Browner, Jr. OLB/DE -- Jake Byrne TE 64 Delano Johnson OLB  7 Case Keenum QB 15 Jeff Maehl WR 69 Nick Mondek OT -- Kashif Moore WR 87 Steve Skelton TE 48 Phillip Supernaw TE (Injured) Rookies in italics 53 Active, 11 Inactive, 10 Practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

The Texans' preseason schedule was announced on April 4, 2012.

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
				Final score	Team record
1	August 11	6:00 p.m. CDT	at Carolina Panthers	W 26–13	1–0	Bank of America Stadium	NFLN/KTRK	Recap
2	August 18	7:00 p.m. CDT	San Francisco 49ers	W 20–9	2–0	Reliant Stadium	KTRK	Recap
3	August 25	7:00 p.m. CDT	at New Orleans Saints	L 27–34	2–1	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	CBS	Recap
4	August 30	6:00 p.m. CDT	Minnesota Vikings	W 28–24	3–1	Reliant Stadium	KTRK	Recap

Regular season

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
				Final score	Team record
1	September 9	12:00 p.m. CDT	Miami Dolphins	W 30–10	1–0	Reliant Stadium	CBS	Recap
2	September 16	12:00 p.m. CDT	at Jacksonville Jaguars	W 27–7	2–0	EverBank Field	CBS	Recap
3	September 23	3:25 p.m. CDT	at Denver Broncos	W 31–25	3–0	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	CBS	Recap
4	September 30	12:00 p.m. CDT	Tennessee Titans	W 38–14	4–0	Reliant Stadium	CBS	Recap
5	October 8	7:30 p.m. CDT	at New York Jets	W 23–17	5–0	MetLife Stadium	ESPN[a]	Recap
6	October 14	7:20 p.m. CDT	Green Bay Packers	L 24–42	5–1	Reliant Stadium	NBC	Recap
7	October 21	12:00 p.m. CDT	Baltimore Ravens	W 43–13	6–1	Reliant Stadium	CBS	Recap
8	Bye
9	November 4	12:00 p.m. CST	Buffalo Bills	W 21–9	7–1	Reliant Stadium	CBS	Recap
10	November 11	7:20 p.m. CST	at Chicago Bears	W 13–6	8–1	Soldier Field	NBC	Recap
11	November 18	12:00 p.m. CST	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 43–37 (OT)	9–1	Reliant Stadium	CBS	Recap
12	November 22	11:30 a.m. CST	at Detroit Lions	W 34–31 (OT)	10–1	Ford Field	CBS	Recap
13	December 2	12:00 p.m. CST	at Tennessee Titans	W 24–10	11–1	LP Field	CBS	Recap
14	December 10	7:30 p.m. CST	at New England Patriots	L 14–42	11–2	Gillette Stadium	ESPN[a]	Recap
15	December 16	12:00 p.m. CST	Indianapolis Colts	W 29–17	12–2	Reliant Stadium	CBS	Recap
16	December 23	12:00 p.m. CST	Minnesota Vikings	L 6–23	12–3	Reliant Stadium	Fox	Recap
17	December 30	12:00 p.m. CST	at Indianapolis Colts	L 16–28	12–4	Lucas Oil Stadium	CBS	Recap

LEGEND

Bold indicates a division opponent.

^{^[a]} Simulcast locally on KHOU.

Postseason

Playoff round	Date	Kickoff	Opponent (seed)	Results		Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
				Final score	Team record
Wild Card	January 5, 2013	3:30 p.m. CST	Cincinnati Bengals (6)	W 19–13	1–0	Reliant Stadium	NBC	Recap
Divisional	January 13, 2013	3:30 p.m. CST	at New England Patriots (2)	L 28–41	1–1	Gillette Stadium	CBS	Recap

Game summaries

Regular season

Week 1: vs. Miami Dolphins

The Houston Texans began their 10th anniversary campaign with lofty expectations, with many columnists picking them to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Despite the lofty expectations, the Texans began the season rather flatly, only managing a field goal on offense against and younger, more inexperienced Dolphins team. Miami played the Texans tough throughout the first half, thanks in part to Reggie Bush's contributions on the ground. However, the game took a stunning turn after the two-minute warning of the first half as the Texans forced three Dolphin turnovers, and quickly converted them into touchdowns to stretch the lead to 24–3 before halftime. The Texans continued to ride their defense to a season opening 30–10 win over Miami. Houston improved to 7–0 all-time against the Miami Dolphins as they started their season 1–0.

Week 2: at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Texans entered their first division clash of the season looking to establish their will on the ground. Behind a punishing ground attack with Arian Foster and Ben Tate, as well as an efficient defensive effort led by second year defensive lineman J.J. Watt, the Texans dominated the game with a time of possession of 43:17 on their way to a 27–7 victory in Jacksonville. With the win, the Texans improved to 2–0 for the 3rd straight season.

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

The Texans entered this highly anticipated early season matchup coming face-to-face once again with a familiar longtime AFC South nemesis in the form of former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who had sat out the 2011 season due to a neck injury. Now back and in Denver, Manning came into the game looking to continue his mastery over the Houston Texans franchise. However, it was Matt Schaub who took control of the game early, throwing 4 touchdown passes, and overcoming a brutal hit where he lost a chunk of his ear. Despite Peyton Manning fueling a Broncos comeback attempt in the 4th quarter, the Texans were able to hang on and defeat the Broncos by 6 points. With the win, the Texans improved to 3–0 for the first time ever. This was also their first road victory against Peyton Manning as they improved to 1–0 against Peyton in road games as a Bronco (0–9 vs. Peyton on the road as a Colt).

Week 4: vs. Tennessee Titans

Despite Chris Johnson breaking out with his first 100+ yard rushing game for the Titans this season, Tennessee was unable to contain a dynamic Texans team, who recorded two touchdowns on defense en route to blowout the former Oilers 38–14. With the win, the Texans improved to 4–0 for the first time in franchise history.

Week 5: at New York Jets

Many expected the Texans to roll through the seemingly dismal Jets team in their first primetime appearance of the season. Even though the Texans never trailed in the game, the Jets kept pace throughout, thanks in large part to a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by the Jets' Joe McKnight. The Texans were able to keep the Jets at bay just enough to earn a hard fought win on the road, and improve to 5–0, remaining one of only two teams undefeated in the NFL to this point along with the Atlanta Falcons. This was also the first time the Texans have ever defeated the New York Jets in their 11-year history, making them 1–5 against the Jets overall and improving their regular season record to 5–0.

Week 6: vs. Green Bay Packers

The Texans came into their first ever appearance on Sunday Night Football facing playoff favorites Green Bay, who had shockingly started the season 2–3, one of those losses ending in controversy. And coming off another disappointing loss to Indianapolis the week before, the Green Bay Packers took out all of their early season frustrations out on the Texans at Reliant Stadium, and at the same time, reestablished themselves as the team to beat in the NFC. Aaron Rodgers tore up the Texans defense with 6 touchdown passes, and the Packers as the Texans dropped to 5–1 and 0–1 on Sunday Night Football.

Week 7: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Battle Red Day

The Texans had little time to think about the disappointing results the week before at home against Green Bay, as the Baltimore Ravens, the team who had eliminated them in the divisional round of the playoffs the previous year, were coming to town. The Texans rebounded from their worst performance of the year with arguably one of their best as they had limited Baltimore's revitalized offense to just 13, forcing two turnovers in an impressive win going into the bye week. It was the first time the Texans had ever defeated the Ravens in their franchise history (they had lost the previous six meetings, including the playoff matchup). Reliant Stadium set a new Texans home attendance record of 71,708 fans during the regular season. Likewise, the Ravens and Texans were the only 2 teams in the AFC who where above .500 at the point of this game. However, the Texans surprisingly won it as the team went into their bye week at 6–1 and also went 1–6 all-time against the Ravens.

Week 9: vs. Buffalo Bills

The game marked the anticipated return of former Texans number one draft pick Mario Williams, who had signed a multi-year $100 million contract with the Bills over the offseason, back to Reliant Stadium. While Williams performed well in his return, the Bills were unable to muster up a touchdown drive over the Texans defense as Houston improved to 7–1 with a 21–9 win. Also, the team took the all-time series to .500 with a 3–3 record against the Bills.

Week 10: at Chicago Bears

The primetime game was played in a mix of rain and snow at Soldier Field, conditions that have typically meant trouble for teams that play their home games in warm weather or controlled environments, such as the Texans. Despite the conditions, the Texans were able to ground out a 13–6 win on the road to improve to 8–1 on the season, 3–0 overall against the Chicago Bears and 1–1 on Sunday Night Football.

Week 11: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

After a hard fought win in Chicago, and on the cusp of a short turnaround for a Thursday afternoon matchup in Detroit the following week, the 8–1 Texans hosted the 1–8 Jaguars at Reliant. The Texans survive an upset scare from Jacksonville thanks to a career high 527 passing yards from Matt Schaub and 275 receiving yards from Andre Johnson. Notably, the Texans become the first NFL team to score twice in an overtime period under the new overtime format.

With the win, the Texans improved to 9–1 as the team swept the Jaguars.

Week 12: at Detroit Lions

Thanksgiving Day game

After defeating the Jaguars at home in overtime, the Texans traveled to Detroit to play in their first ever Thanksgiving Day game. Many touchdowns were scored between both of the teams, but the Texans got the better edge of it when Justin Forsett ran for a controversial touchdown from deep in the Texans' territory. With their 2nd-straight overtime victory, the Texans improved to 10–1, 1–0 on Thanksgiving, and 2–1 against the Lions all-time.

Week 13: at Tennessee Titans

After a grueling stretch where they endured two hard fought overtime matches over a span of 5 days, the Texans took the opportunity of a prolonged week to heal up and rest in advance of the stretch run to the playoffs. The Texans took the AFC's best record into Tennessee to face a reeling Titans team, fresh off of firing their offensive coordinator earlier in the week. The Texans staked out to an early lead and never looked back as the defense forced 6 Titans turnovers and held Titans running back Chris Johnson to 51 yards en route to a relatively stress free 24–10 victory. With the win, the Texans set a new team record for wins in a season, while improving to 11–1 and also clinched the franchise's second straight trip to the playoffs and swept the Titans for the first time since 2004.

Week 14: at New England Patriots

The Texans were thoroughly outplayed in what would turn out to be a preview of the Divisional Round rematch between both teams. The Texans dropped to 11–2 with the loss.

Week 15: vs. Indianapolis Colts

With their victory over the Colts, the Texans improved to 12–2 on the season and 5–0 against division rivals, thereby securing their second AFC South title in franchise history. Because the Patriots dropped to 10–4 several hours later on the same day, the Texans can clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs by winning at least one of their two remaining games by virtue of their head-to-head tiebreaker over the Broncos.

Week 16: vs. Minnesota Vikings

With the loss in their regular season home finale, the Texans dropped to 12–3 on the season and 6–2 at home, finishing 0–2 at home against NFC North teams. Houston remains winless (0–3) against the Minnesota Vikings in franchise history.

Week 17: at Indianapolis Colts

Hoping to rebound from a tough loss, the Texans traveled to Indianapolis for game 2 against the Andrew Luck-led Colts. However, the Texans lost this game and finished 12–4 for the season and 0–11 against the Colts in Indianapolis. With wins by the Broncos and Patriots, the Texans dropped in conference standings, taking the AFC's #3 seed for the 2nd straight year, and would host the Bengals in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs—also for a 2nd straight year.

Postseason

AFC Wild Card Playoff Game: vs. #6 Cincinnati Bengals

In somewhat of a sloppy game for both teams, the Texans booted the Cincinnati Bengals out of the playoffs for the 2nd straight year and moved on to the Divisional Round. After going up 6–0 on two Shayne Graham field goals to start the game, Matt Schaub threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to give the Bengals a 7–6 lead. Coming out of halftime, the Texans defense stiffened up for the rest of the game, forcing the Bengals to 0–9 on 3rd down conversions, holding 2nd-year QB Andy Dalton to 14 completions in 30 attempts for 127 passing yards, and only 2 more field goals as the Texans hung on for the victory.

AFC Divisional Playoff Game: at #2 New England Patriots

The Texans were eliminated from the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row in a game reminiscent of the Week 14 matchup against the Patriots. Entering the game, both teams combined were 12–0 at home against other AFC teams. Again, the Texans were outplayed and out-coached, losing despite possessing the ball for about 31:34 minutes compared to their opponent's 28:36. An intercepted pass that doomed a promising drive and a turnover on downs late in the 3rd quarter put the game out of reach as New England ran away with the score, boasting impressive performances from QB Tom Brady, RBs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen, and WR Wes Welker.

Standings

AFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(3) Houston Texans	12	4	0	.750	5–1	10–2	416	331	L2
(5) Indianapolis Colts	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	357	387	W2
Tennessee Titans	6	10	0	.375	1–5	5–7	330	471	W1
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	14	0	.125	2–4	2–10	255	444	L5

References

External links

• Official website

Houston Texans Founded in 2002 Based in Houston, Texas The Franchise History Fox Sports Houston Records Seasons Coaches Players Starting Quarterbacks Expansion Draft First-round draft picks Draft Selections Records Awards and Honors Pro Bowl selections Stadiums NRG Stadium Culture Toro Bullpen Bull Pen Pep Band Battle Red Day Cheerleaders Rivalries Tennessee Titans Dallas Cowboys Division championships (2) 2011 2012 Playoff appearances (2) 2011 2012 Key Personnel Owner: Bob McNair General Manager: Rick Smith Head Coach: Bill O'Brien Key Players Andre Johnson Arian Foster Johnathan Joseph J.J. Watt Current League Affiliations League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: South Division   Seasons (14) 2000s 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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