2009 Houston Texans season The 2009 Houston Texans season is the 8th season for the team in the National Football League . The Texans improved upon their 8 – 8 record in 2008 , claimed their first winning season in franchise history , and 4 straight heartbreaking division losses came back to haunt them , as they narrowly missed making the playoffs , being the first team out in a series of tiebreakers , and due to teams resting their starters against the New York Jets . Offseason . Player additions / subtractions . Additions : Subtractions : 2009 NFL Draft . The Texans had eight selections for the 2009 NFL Draft . The Texans received an additional fourth - round pick ( selection 122 overall ) in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for QB Sage Rosenfels . The team signed undrafted Tennessee running back Arian Foster after the draft , and signed him to the practice squad , and he made his NFL debut mid - season . Foster would go on to win the NFL rushing title the following year . Coaching staff . Head coach Gary Kubiak entered his fourth year as the Texans ' head coach . Frank Bush , who had served as the Texans senior defensive assistant since 2007 , was promoted to defensive coordinator on January 13 , 2009 after the firing of Richard Smith . Smith was terminated shortly after the conclusion of the 2008 season . David Gibbs , son of NFL coach Alex Gibbs , was hired on January 19 , 2009 as the new defensive backs coach after previously serving in the same role for the Kansas City Chiefs since 2006 . Pro Football Hall of Fame r and former Houston Oilers offensive lineman Bruce Matthews enters his first season as a coach in the NFL , filling one of the offensive assistant coach positions for the Texans . Schedule . Regular season . NOTE : Division games are in bold text . Regular season results . Week 1 : vs . New York Jets . The Texans began their season with a Week 1 showdown with the New York Jets . Houston would trail in the first quarter as Jets kicker Jay Feely nailed a 24 - yard field goal . The Texans ' deficit would increase in the second quarter as quarterback Mark Sanchez completed a 30 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chansi Stuckey . Things only got worse for Houston in the third quarter when running back Thomas Jones scored on a 1 - yard touchdown run . The Texans would get on the board as safety Dominique Barber returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown , but New York would seal the win with Jones ' 38 - yard touchdown run . With the loss , Houston began its season at 0 – 1 . Week 2 : at Tennessee Titans . Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Jets , the Texans flew to LP Field for a Week 2 divisional battle with the Tennessee Titans . Houston would trail early in the first quarter as Titans running back Chris Johnson got a 57 - yard touchdown run . The Texans would respond with quarterback Matt Schaub completing a 19 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Johnson , but Tennessee replied with quarterback Kerry Collins completing a 69 - yard touchdown to Johnson . The Titans would add onto their lead in the second quarter as Collins completed an 8 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nate Washington . Afterwards , Houston would take the lead as Schaub completed a 72 - yard touchdown pass to Johnson and a 29 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jacoby Jones , along with kicker Kris Brown making a 38 - yard field goal . Tennessee would tie the game to end the half as kicker Rob Bironas made a 40 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , the Titans got their lead again as Johnson got a 91 - yard touchdown run . Afterwards , the Texans would tie the game as Schaub completed a 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Owen Daniels . In the fourth quarter , Houston would take the lead as Brown nailed a 23 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the defense prevented Tennessee from rallying . With the win , the Texans improved to 1 – 1 . It was the first road win against Tennessee since 2004 . Week 3 : vs . Jacksonville Jaguars . Coming off their hard - fought road win over the Titans , the Texans went home , donned their Battle Red uniforms , and prepared for a Week 3 AFC South showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars . Even though the Jaguars got the first points of the game with kicker Josh Scobee ' s 52 - yard field goal , Texans quarterback Matt Schaub got his team the lead with an 18 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jacoby Jones . Afterwards , a back - and - forth second quarter commenced . Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard would get a 2 - yard touchdown , yet Houston wide receiver Kevin Walter came through with a 9 - yard touchdown reception . The Jaguars would deliver a big strike with running back Maurice Jones - Drew ' s 61 - yard touchdown , but the Texans once again got the lead as tight end Owen Daniels got a 2 - yard touchdown reception . Jacksonville would get the lead again in the third quarter as Jones - Drew got a 1 - yard touchdown run , followed by Houston kicker Kris Brown tying the game with a 27 - yard field goal . However , in the fourth quarter , the Jaguars delivered a huge strike as Jones - Drew got an 8 - yard touchdown . The Texans tried to rally , but the Jaguars ' defense stood firm and prevented any kind of a comeback . With the loss , Houston fell to 1 – 2 . Week 4 : vs . Oakland Raiders . Hoping to rebound from their divisional loss to the Jaguars , the Texans stayed at home for a Week 4 duel with the Oakland Raiders . Houston delivered the opening shot of the first quarter with kicker Kris Brown ' s 26 - yard field goal , followed by the Raiders tying the game with a 46 - yard field goal from kicker Sebastian Janikowski . The Texans would take full command in the second quarter as Brown nailed a 34 - yard field goal , followed by running back Steve Slaton getting a 32 - yard touchdown run and catching an 18 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Schaub . Oakland would close out the half with Janikowski ' s 33 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , Houston would continue its domination with rookie linebacker Brian Cushing tackling Raiders running back Justin Fargas in his own endzone for a safety , immediately followed by wide receiver Jacoby Jones returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown . With the win , the Texans improved to 2 – 2 . Week 5 : at Arizona Cardinals . Coming off their home win over the Raiders , the Texans flew to the University of Phoenix Stadium for a Week 5 interconference duel with the Arizona Cardinals . Houston would trail in the first quarter as Cardinals running back Tim Hightower got a 1 - yard touchdown run in the first quarter , followed by quarterback Kurt Warner completing a 9 - yard and a 26 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald . Afterwards , the Texans began to rally as running back Chris Brown got a 1 - yard touchdown run in the third quarter . Then , quarterback Matt Schaub would hook up with wide receiver Andre Johnson on a 11 - yard and a 17 - yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter . However , Arizona would strike on two key plays . First , Cardinals cornerback Dominique Rodgers - Cromartie would intercept a pass from Schaub and return it 49 yards . Second , Arizona ' s defense held Houston ' s offense 1 yard out of the endzone three times . With the loss , the Texans fell to 2 – 3 . Week 6 : at Cincinnati Bengals . Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Cardinals , the Texas flew to Paul Brown Stadium for a Week 6 duel with the Cincinnati Bengals . Houston would get off to a fast first quarter start as quarterback Matt Schaub found tight end Owen Daniels on a 12 - yard touchdown pass . The Bengals answered in the second quarter with a 10 - yard touchdown run from running back Cedric Benson , yet the Texans would reply with Schaub completing a 38 - yard touchdown pass to running back Steve Slaton . Cincinnati would close out the half with quarterback Carson Palmer ' s 8 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Laveranues Coles , followed by kicker Shayne Graham nailing a 50 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , Houston stormed right back with Schaub completing a 23 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jacoby Jones and a 7 - yard touchdown pass to Daniels . Afterwards , the defense held to preserve the 11 - point lead . With the win , the Texans improved to 3 – 3 . Week 7 : vs . San Francisco 49ers . Coming off their impressive road win over the Bengals , the Texans went home for a Week 7 interconference duel with the San Francisco 49ers . Houston would get off to a fast start in the first quarter as running back Steve Slaton got a 1 - yard touchdown run . The Texans would add onto their lead in the second quarter as quarterback Matt Schaub completed a 9 - yard touchdown pass to Slaton and a 42 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Owen Daniels . However , the 49ers began to rally in the third quarter with quarterback Alex Smith hooking up with tight end Vernon Davis on a 29 - yard touchdown pass . In the fourth quarter , San Francisco continued to catch up as Smith found Davis again on a 14 - yard touchdown pass . Houston would respond with kicker Kris Brown booting a 50 - yard field goal . The 49ers tried to comeback as Smith connected again with Davis on a 23 - yard touchdown pass , yet the defense halted San Francisco ' s rally . With the win , the Texans improved to 4 – 3 . Week 8 : at Buffalo Bills . Coming off their home win over the 49ers , the Texans flew to Ralph Wilson Stadium for a Week 8 duel with the Buffalo Bills . Houston would trail in the first quarter as Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens got a 29 - yard touchdown run . The Texans would get on the board in the second as kicker Kris Brown nailed a 42 - yard and a 22 - yard field goal . Buffalo would close out the half with a 21 - yard field goal from kicker Rian Lindell . The Texans would creep closer in the third quarter with Brown booting a 26 - yard field goal . Afterwards , in the fourth quarter , Houston took the lead for good as running back Ryan Moats got an 11 - yard ( followed by quarterback Matt Schaub ' s 2 - point conversion pass to wide receiver Andre Johnson ) , a 1 - yard , and 3 - yard touchdown run . With the win , the Texans would improve to 5 – 3 , their best start in franchise history . Week 9 : at Indianapolis Colts . Coming off their road win over the Bills , the Texans flew to Lucas Oil Stadium for a Week 9 AFC South duel with the Indianapolis Colts . Houston would trail early in the first quarter as Colts quarterback Peyton Manning found running back Joseph Addai on a 7 - yard touchdown pass , followed by a 22 - yard field goal from kicker Matt Stover . Indianapolis would increase their lead in the second quarter with Stover ' s 37 - yard field goal , yet the Texans closed out the half with kicker Kris Brown nailing a 56 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , Houston began to gain ground as quarterback Matt Schaub completed a 1 - yard touchdown pass to running back Ryan Moats . The Texans would take the lead in the fourth quarter as running back Steve Slaton got a 1 - yard touchdown run , but the Colts retook the lead with running back Joseph Addai getting a 2 - yard touchdown run . Houston had a chance to tie the game with one second left in regulation , but Brown ' s 42 - yard field goal attempt sailed wide left . In what was another close game resulting in a tough loss , the Texans went into their bye week at 5 – 4 . Week 11 : vs . Tennessee Titans . Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Colts , the Texans went home for an AFC South rivalry match against the Tennessee Titans . In the first quarter Houston got on the board first as QB Matt Schaub got a 3 - yard touchdown pass to RB Steve Slaton . In the second quarter the Titans replied with QB Vince Young completing a 13 - yard touchdown pass to WR Kenny Britt . Then Houston tried to pull away as Schaub hooked up with WR Andre Johnson on a 13 - yard touchdown pass , until the Titans replied again with RB LenDale White making a 1 - yard touchdown run . The Texans fell behind in the third quarter as kicker Rob Bironas made a 50 - yard field goal , but came back to tie the game when kicker Kris Brown made a 26 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter the Titans scored for the win when Bironas got a 53 - yard field goal . With the loss , the Texans fell to 5 – 5 . Week 17 : vs . New England Patriots . Houston earned its first ever winning season after 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter . Tom Brady left and re - entered the game after reports that he had been playing for the past several weeks with three broken ribs emerged . Wes Welker received an injured knee early in the first quarter .