HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- Complimentary football was a common theme for Texans players and interim head coach Romeo Crennel after winning their first game of the season Sunday.
They moved the ball offensively, flew to it on defense, and often relied on kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn to knock down field goals when drives fell short of the end zone.
But it was the fourth down play to Brandin Cooks -- late in the game with the Texans leading by two scores -- when the Texans showed they would end this game how they started: in attack mode.
Instead of having Fairbairn to kick a 48-yard field goal to put the Texans up by 12 with just over four minutes left to play, they went with Cooks on a slant about six yards past the sticks, and the speedy wide receiver did the rest.
Romeo rolls the dice on fourth down and ends the entire game as Cooks takes a slant to the house. pic.twitter.com/H2QWLmW80e
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) October 11, 2020
"That was a great move on (Cooks') part to get the touchdown," Crennel said. "All I was trying to do was get the first down because it was a two-score game. And the field goal, even though it would've put points on the board, potentially it might not have made a difference if they had gone down and scored. So I wanted to try to get that done and kind of put it out of reach and make it much tougher for them to have a chance to come back."
Cooks had his best game as a Texan. There was the 19-yard touchdown catch and run, as part of his 168 receiving yards on eight catches and 12 targets.
The Texans wanted to get Cooks going early after he went without a catch against Minnesota the previous week.
Deshaun Watson went to Cooks immediately with a deep ball on the right side for 36 yards. True to form, the Texans still punted on that opening drive, a maddening custom here.
But it was an early indicator of how good the Watson-Cooks connection can be. And by the time it was 4th and 4, late in the game with a nine-point lead, it was clear where Watson should go with the football.
Cooks said that moment defined the trust, not only from player-to-player, but with the coaches and players as well.
Cornerback Bradley Roby was also impressed by the move.
"I love that," Roby said. "I love that aggressive mentality, like 'let's just end this game, not leave anything to chance' … We want to end them. I was proud of the offense and how they played today. They put them away. And all we had to do was stop the bleeding, don't give up any big plays toward the end."
