Neo Workxx » HOUSTON (AP) — After the Houston Texans extended their

franchise record with a ninth straight win on Sunday https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Antonio-Callaway-Jersey , J.J. Watt was asked to reflect on how far the team has come in the past year.“I was on the couch a year ago so this is a lot better,” said Watt, who missed the last 11 games of Houston’s 4-12 2017 season with a broken leg. “I was in a lot of pain. So it’s good for us to be winning … this is what it’s supposed to feel like. Honestly this is how you dream it up.”Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass and the Texans intercepted rookie Baker Mayfield three times, returning one for a score, to get the 29-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday that extended the streak.The Texans (9-3), who opened the season 0-3, haven’t lost since Sept. 23 to take a commanding lead atop the AFC South. While they appreciate what they’ve done to turn things around, they’re quick to note that they still have plenty of work left to do.“It means a lot especially from where we came from 0-3 … but it’s not the Super Bowl so we’re still fighting,” receiver DeAndre Hopkins said.Houston raced out to a 23-0 halftime lead and added two second-half field goals by Ka’imi Fairbairn to give him five on Sunday.Mayfield, the top overall pick in this year’s draft, had his worst game of the season, throwing three interceptions for the first time since he was a freshman at Texas Tech in 2013. He entered the game having thrown nine touchdown passes with just one interception in the past three games as the Browns (4-7-1) won consecutive games for the first time since 2014.Mayfield lamented the mistakes he made in this one.“(If) I would’ve taken care of the ball Britton Colquitt Jersey , this game would’ve been very close,” he said.He finished with 397 yards passing and had a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter after throwing a career-best four in a win over the Bengals last week. Houston’s fearsome pass rush, led by Watt and Jadeveon Clowney didn’t sack Mayfield, but they hurried and harassed him for much of the day.His interceptions all came before halftime to help the Texans build the big early lead.“He probably wasn’t feeling too dangerous in the first half, but he was feeling a little more dangerous in the second half,” Watt said.Houston was up 3-0 after an early field goal when Watson, who finished with 224 yards, connected with rookie Jordan Thomas on an 11-yard touchdown pass. Hopkins set up that score when he made a 24-yard reception after T.J. Carrie grabbed his dreadlocks in an attempt to slow him down two plays earlier. Zach Cunningham made it 17-0 when he grabbed his first career interception and ran 38 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Officials first ruled him down at the 1, but the play was reviewed and changed to a touchdown.Kareem Jackson was called for a 47-yard pass interference penalty on Cleveland’s next drive to put the Browns at their 20. But Mayfield threw another interception two plays later and it was returned 18 yards by Johnathan Joseph.Houston added another field goal to make it 20-0 with about three minutes left in the second quarter.Mayfield’s third interception came late in the second quarter when Andre Hal grabbed the ball in the end zone.Lamar Miller had 103 yards rushing for his second straight 100-yard game and fourth of the season and Hopkins had seven receptions for 91 yards.Cleveland continued to struggle in late-season games, and the Browns fell to 9-39 in December and January games since 2008.Nick Chubb got the Browns on the board in the third quarter when his 2-yard TD run cut the lead to 23-7 with about 9½ minutes left. Rashard Higgins had a 17-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, but the 2-point conversion failed to leave the Browns down 29-13.Houston added another field goal after that before a mistake-filled possession by the Browns. First Mayfield threw what looked to be a 76-yard touchdown pass to rookie Antonio Callaway, but it was brought back because of a holding penalty by left tackle Greg Robinson.Two plays later Tyrod Taylor Jersey , Mayfield connected with Callaway again and he gained 71 yards before rookie Justin Reid chased him down from behind and knocked the ball out of his hands just before he would have scored. It bounced into the end zone where it was recovered by the Texans.“It was just trying to make something happen,” Reid said. “I didn’t want him to score so just make a play on the ball and see if it would come out. Good thing for us it did.”INJURIESCleveland cornerback Denzel Ward left in the first half with a concussion. … Browns defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi injured his biceps in the second quarter and didn’t return. … Joseph didn’t return after injuring his neck in the second quarter. … LB Brennan Scarlett injured his leg and didn’t return. … Houston offensive tackle Kendall Lamm left in the second half with a concussion.REMEMBERING PRESIDENT BUSHThe Texans observed a moment of silence before the game for former President George H.W. Bush, who died on Friday night in Houston at 94. Bush was a frequent visitor to Houston’s games and had participated in the coin toss at several contests. During the moment of silence pictures of Bush at various games were shown on the video screens flanked by huge 41’s made out of a collage of pictures as a further tribute to the nation’s 41st president.UP NEXTBrowns: Host the Panthers next Sunday.Texans: Host the Colts next Sunday. Contrived or not, the Cleveland Browns using former coach Hue Jackson as fuel was exactly what they needed to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12.Jackson coaching in Cincinnati probably doesn’t really bother the Browns locker room that much. But, for whatever their reasons, the Browns player leadership used him to energize their team to help embarrass their hosts in the first installment of 2018’s Battle of Ohio.The second edition should be a spectacle when the Bengals travel to FirstEnergy Stadium with Jackson on their sideline. And the fans won’t, and we certainly won’t forget about it in the build-up to the showdown.And Jackson’s dreaming if he’s expecting a warmer reception in Cleveland. Like the players, Browns fans were not happy with their team’s futility for Jackson’s two-plus seasons, or the way he continually skirted responsibility and finger-pointed his way out of town and through the media rounds after his dismissal.“We weren’t losing that game,” one Browns staffer told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “No way in hell were we losing that game.”There are probably more concrete reasons for Baker Mayfield “cold-shouldering” Jackson before and after that game. He did call his former coach “fake” on Monday after taking backlash from ESPN’s “First Take” program commentator Damien Woody for his comments about Jackson jumping aboard with a divisional rival after his termination.Mayfield responded to a FirstTake Instagram post video clip from the show. In the clip, Woody criticized Mayfield’s comments about Jackson considering he transferred from Texas Tech to Oklahoma, and the fiery rookie quarterback replied on the website with the following:“Not even comparable... I didn’t lose 30(-plus) games be fake and then do that... I wasn’t gonna have a scholarship. Good try though buddy.”Whatever. The two situations are miles away from being similar situations. Mayfield might be a little off-base for going so hard at Jackson Baker Mayfield Color Rush Jersey , but it’s not because he’s a hypocrite because of his own situation.And Damarious Randall’s hilarious “game ball” offering seemed a little too fated rather than any conscious or pre-planned effort to stick it to Jackson.But the Browns’ response to Jackson’s dismissal, both positively in the win column and negatively in the petty—albeit hilarious—response to trouncing his new team on their home field, has been a clear signal that his team simply didn’t respect him. Contrary to popular belief that Jackson is an elite and appealing coaching candidate—ideas perpetuated by his nice-guy attitude, his media buddies (mouthpieces) like Mike Silver, and his past accomplishments—it’s becoming more and more clear how over his head he was when asked to lead an entire football team. And despite the popular sentiment around his name, he just never earned his locker room’s trust.Hiring Todd Haley was a last-ditch effort to save himself. Instead of helping solve his team’s issues, though, he continued deflecting blame and reportedly clashing with his coordinator. It was his feeble attempt to preserve his “good” name, and it backfired, big time.And to be perfectly honest, it’s not surprising he went crawling back to Marvin Lewis’s waiting arms. After he embarrassed himself on every media outlet in the country, it was hard to imagine any other franchise employing him or affording him any kind of role in the near-term.The Browns have plenty of reasons to act the way they have towards their former coach. No one outside their locker room https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Emmanuel-Ogbah-Jersey , especially media folks with no access like Damien Woody, gets to criticize them for it, either.It doesn’t matter why they don’t respect him, or why they wanted to beat him so badly. They used his contrived betrayal to come together to stick it to their former coach.And it worked.The Browns hadn’t won a road game since 2014. They ran the Bengals, with Jackson on their sidelines, off their own field in one of the most decisive road wins by a Browns team that I’ve ever seen.If that’s what it takes, then contrive some more controversies, please.Apologize to no one.