[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 164 (Wednesday, December 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE HOUSTON TEXANS ON WINNING THEIR 2ND STRAIGHT AFC SOUTH 
                             DIVISION TITLE

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                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2012

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the 
Houston Texans on clinching their 2nd straight AFC South Division 
Title. The Texans are a relatively new franchise, established in 2002. 
They currently lead the AFC race for home field advantage throughout 
the playoffs. As an avid Texans fan, I am proud to honor the Houston 
Texans on this great achievement.
  I would like to submit the following article: ``Texans Cement 
Supremacy in Division and Look Beyond'' by Tom Spousta, printed in The 
New York Times, December 17, 2012:
       Houston--Arian Foster and Dwight Freeney embraced at 
     midfield and, after a few heartfelt words, began pulling 
     their shoulder pads over their heads. They exchanged jerseys, 
     Foster giving up his Houston Texans No. 23 and Freeney 
     handing over his Indianapolis Colts No. 93--one that will 
     hang in Foster's collection to commemorate Houston's second 
     consecutive AFC South division title.
       The Colts officially acquiesced Sunday to the supremacy of 
     the Texans, who own the AFC's best record at 12-2 but whose 
     dominance somehow still remains questioned as the playoffs 
     approach.
       They beat Indianapolis, 29-17, in spectacularly efficient 
     fashion before a raucous crowd at Reliant Stadium. A modest 
     locker room celebration followed, but the Texans know a 
     greater validation of their season will come with a top seed 
     and home-field advantage for the postseason.
       ``You always have to bask in the moment of winning a 
     division championship, but I think the expectations we put on 
     ourselves and everybody puts on us are much bigger than 
     that,'' said Foster, who had 27 carries for 165 yards, 131 of 
     those coming in the second half. ``We're proud of what we've 
     done here, but we've got more to go.''
       Indianapolis (9-5) lost a chance to earn a wild-card berth 
     with two games to play, including the season finale at home 
     against the Texans, who gave the Colts plenty to fix before 
     then.
       Matt Schaub was 23 of 31 passing for 261 yards and guided 
     an offense that did not commit a turnover. Eleven of those 
     completions went for 151 yards to Andre Johnson, who caught a 
     touchdown pass and surpassed 11,000 yards for his career.
       Shayne Graham kicked five field goals, and Bryan Braman 
     blocked a punt for a touchdown. Houston's defense atoned for 
     its poor performance in last week's 42-14 loss at New 
     England, allowing only one third-down conversion and sacking 
     Andrew Luck five times, three of those coming from J. J. 
     Watt.
       Luck finished 13 of 27 for 186 yards behind an offensive 
     line missing two starters. He threw a 61-yard touchdown pass 
     to T. Y. Hilton and an 8-yarder to Dwayne Allen. But a key 
     Colts drive in the second quarter resulted in their costliest 
     error, when Mewelde Moore fumbled at the Texans' goal line 
     after being hit by Watt and the ball was recovered by Tim 
     Dobbins.
       ``We got back to what we are as a football team,'' Texans 
     Coach Gary Kubiak said. ``Protecting the ball, running the 
     ball, playing solid defense. That's how we win.''
       Watt, who paid tribute to the shooting victims in Newtown, 
     Conn., by writing the town's name on one of his gloves, 
     finished with 10 tackles and now has an AFC-leading 19.5 
     sacks.
       The Colts owned an odds-defying 8-1 record this season in 
     games decided on the final possession, so there was no cause 
     for panic after the Texans grabbed a 20-10 halftime lead. But 
     Indianapolis generated little momentum in the second half and 
     finished with 272 total yards, compared with 417 yards for 
     the Texans.
       ``It was a tough loss for us,'' Bruce Arians, the Colts' 
     interim coach, said. ``We came here with one idea and that 
     was to win the division and we're not going to win the 
     division. They did it, and my hat is off to the Texans, and 
     we'll see them in a couple weeks.''

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