Yates threw a touchdown pass, Arian Foster rushed for 111 yards and Houston overcame another injury to Andre Johnson to beat Atlanta 17-10.

The Texans (9-3) have won a franchise-record six straight games, a remarkable feat considering they’re down to their third-string quarterback and have played the bulk of their streak without their star receiver.

“This is a league of talented players,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “First-teamers, second-teamers, third-teamers — I think we had the advantage on paper, but you’ve always got to go out and play the game. It doesn’t matter who was on the other side.”

Johnson left in the third quarter after hurting his left hamstring. He injured his right hamstring in Week 4, underwent minor surgery and sat out six games.

Coach Gary Kubiak said after the game that he was told the injury was not severe, but he couldn’t be certain until Johnson underwent tests Monday.

The Falcons (7-5) sputtered offensively much of the day and lost for just the second time in seven games. Houston’s top-ranked defense knocked down two passes by Matt Ryan in the end zone in the closing seconds.

“We had opportunities to make some plays and we didn’t make them,” Ryan said. “It’s disappointing.”

Atlanta hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in its previous 14 games and entered having allowed the second-fewest yards rushing per game in the NFL.

“We figured they would run the ball (and) that is what they did,” Atlanta linebacker Curtis Lofton said. “They mixed the run with the pass and they kept us off guard. We really couldn’t pin our ears back and play solid defense.”

Yates was thrust into his pro debut last week in Jacksonville when Matt Leinart broke his collarbone. Leinart was starting in place of Matt Schaub, who broke his right foot in Houston’s previous game.

Smith wasn’t surprised that the Texans were able to play well with Yates at quarterback.

“It is a system offense,” Smith said. “It is based on the running game and, so, regardless of whom the quarterback is, there are the same actions.”

The Falcons couldn’t capitalize on Yates’ biggest mistake, either.

Early in the fourth quarter, linebacker Mike Peterson intercepted and returned for an apparent touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter. But cornerback Dunta Robinson and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon were both called for defensive holding.

Foster kept the drive going with a 12-yard scamper and finished the 19-play march with a 1-yard run with 6:05 left.

Then it was up to the Texans’ defense to finish.

Atlanta got the ball back with 59 seconds left, and Ryan threw a deep pass to Julio Jones to the Texans 25. But Ryan overthrew Roddy White in one corner of the end zone and Kareem Jackson swatted away a pass to Jones in the other corner as time expired.

“I had the opportunity to make that play and I just had to come up with the catch at the end,” Jones said.

Ryan completed 20 of 46 passes for 267 yards, but also threw two interceptions.

Johnson pulled in a 50-yard pass from Yates to the Atlanta 5 in the second quarter. Yates then snapped a quick pass to Joel Dreessen for his first career TD.

Ryan completed three passes to Tony Gonzalez to get the Falcons moving. Atlanta drove and finished with a 19-yard field goal by Matt Bryant.

Yates took a hard hit from John Abraham early in the third quarter, but Abraham was disappointed they weren’t able to disrupt him more.

“It was our fault for not getting him down,” Abraham said. “We got a few good pressures on him. But there’s a difference between making him move and making him take hits and getting him on the ground. We didn’t get him on the ground that much. He did a good job.”

Ryan kick-started Atlanta’s best drive of the game with an 18-yard pass to Gonzalez. Jones made an over-the-shoulder catch to the Houston 4, and Ryan found White wide-open for the tying score with 1:46 left in the third quarter.

Notes: Gonzalez has a catch in 175 consecutive games, the league’s longest active streak. Gonzalez also reached 60 receptions for the 13th consecutive season, an NFL record. … The Texans had a positive turnover ratio (plus-1) for the eighth time in 12 games. … Houston has already matched its highest single-season wins total (9-7 in 2009).

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston coach Gary Kubiak would’ve told anyone who asked that the Texans were going to be fine with rookie
T.J. Yates playing quarterback.

He was right.

Yates threw a touchdown pass in his first NFL start,
Arian Foster
rushed for 111 yards and Houston overcame another injury to
Andre Johnson
to beat Atlanta 17-10 on Sunday.

The Texans (9-3) have won a franchise-record six straight games, a remarkable feat considering they’re down to their third-string
quarterback and have played many of their games without their star receiver.

The Falcons (7-5) sputtered offensively most of the game in losing for the second time in seven games. Houston’s top-ranked
defense knocked down two passes by
Matt Ryan
in the end zone in the closing seconds.

Kubiak couldn’t bear to watch the final play, turning his back and walking down the sideline. When the ball hit the turf and
the crowd cheered, general manager Rick Smith told Kubiak what happened and patted him on the back.

“It’s a great win,” Kubiak said, “because of everything this team has been through.”

Yates went 12-for-25 for 188 yards without an interception, an impressively poised performance after a dizzying week.

“I test my guys the night before every game,” Kubiak said, “and when I tested him, I was so impressed. I went in there and
told the whole team, ‘I wish you could have been in there. He is ready to play.”‘

The fifth-round pick was thrust into his pro debut last week in Jacksonville when
Matt Leinart
broke his collarbone. Leinart was starting in place of
Matt Schaub
, who broke a Lisfranc joint in his right foot in Houston’s previous game.

The 24-year-old Yates went 8-for-15 for 70 yards in his earlier-than-expected debut against the Jaguars. He was sacked three
times by the Falcons, but never looked overwhelmed.

“I was extremely comfortable out there,” Yates said. “Coach Kubiak, throughout the week, we had a lot of talks and he instilled
a lot of confidence in me.”

Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp worked day and night preparing Yates for the Falcons’
ninth-ranked defense. When Kubiak quizzed Yates at the end of the week, he knew the rookie was ready.

“The job they did with that kid in the quarterback room was tremendous,” Kubiak said. “It’s been a heck of a challenge. T.J.
held up his end of the bargain well.”

Johnson looked like he’d be Yates’ go-to guy early, making leaping catches on the quarterback’s first two completions. The
All-Pro receiver also atoned for an earlier drop by pulling in a perfect 50-yard pass from Yates to the Atlanta 5 in the second
quarter.

Yates then snapped a quick pass to tight end
Joel Dreessen
for his first career TD, and chants of “T.J.! T.J.!” emerged from the capacity crowd.

“I was studying my butt off all week long,” Yates said, “and it paid off.”

Naturally, the Texans couldn’t make it through a game without more adversity.

Johnson left in the third quarter after hurting his left hamstring. He injured his right hamstring in Week 4, underwent minor
surgery and sat out six games.

Kubiak said after the game that he was told the injury was not severe, but he couldn’t be certain until Johnson underwent
tests on Monday.

“I don’t think you ever know about the hamstrings until the next day,” Kubiak said.

After Johnson went down, Foster ably took over the offensive load, carrying 10 times on Houston’s decisive drive.

Yates got lucky on his worst throw of the game, a pass to Foster that linebacker
Mike Peterson
intercepted and returned for an apparent touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter.

But cornerback
Dunta Robinson
and linebacker
Sean Weatherspoon
were both called for defensive holding and the Texans retained possession.

Foster kept the drive going with a 12-yard scamper and finished the 19-play march with a 1-yard run with 6:05 left.

Then it was up to the Texans’ defense to finish.

Atlanta got the ball back with 59 seconds left, and Ryan threw a deep pass to
Julio Jones
to the Texans 25. But Ryan overthrew
Roddy White
in one corner of the end zone and
Kareem Jackson
swatted away a pass to Jones in the other corner as time expired.

“I had the opportunity to make that play and I just had to come up with the catch at the end,” Jones said.

Ryan completed 20 of 46 passes for 267 yards with two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions. The Texans have intercepted
a pass in 11 consecutive games.

“We played in spurts,” Atlanta coach
Mike Smith
said. “We didn’t do the things we wanted to accomplish. We had way too many dropped footballs, way too many things that we
normally don’t do.”

After Johnson went down, Foster kept Houston on track, converting a fourth-and-1 with a 7-yard run to the Atlanta 2. The Texans
took more than 10 minutes off the clock with the decisive, 19-play drive, which tied a team record.

Notes: Atlanta allowed a 100-yard rusher for the first time in 15 games. … Gonzalez has a catch in 175 consecutive games,
the league’s longest active streak. Gonzalez also reached 60 receptions for the 13th consecutive season, an NFL record. …
The Texans had a positive turnover ratio (plus-1) for the eighth time in 12 games. … Houston has already matched its highest
single-season win total (9-7 in 2009).

© 2011 STATS LLC

by

George Henry, The Associated Press

Atlanta Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH — Atlanta needs Dominique Franks and Christopher Owens to step up at cornerback.

Starter Brent Grimes, an alternate Pro Bowl pick in 2010, had minor surgery Thursday on his right knee that will sideline him for two to four weeks.

Franks and Owens say not to worry, they’re ready to handle a bigger role in his absence.

The Falcons (7-4) have yet to decide if they will start Franks or Owens on the left side on Sunday at Houston (8-3), but either way, both players will take plenty of snaps.

Atlanta uses a nickel scheme about 55 percent of the time, so a lot will be asked of Franks, a 2010 fifth-round draft pick with no career starts, and Owens, a third-year Atlanta veteran with 10 career starts.

“It’s too bad that I had to get this opportunity because of some injuries,” Franks said Thursday.

“We’re having to sit Grimey out and (Kelvin) Hayden out, but it really helps to be learning from those guys each week and preparing myself like I’m going to play. I’m just staying with the same routine.”

Franks and Owens have spent extra time watching film this week with Dunta Robinson, the starting right cornerback who played his first six seasons with Houston.

Robinson has spoken at length about the perils of covering All-Pro receiver Andre Johnson even though the Texans have lost their top two quarterbacks, Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, to season-ending injuries.

Houston will start rookie T.J. Yates, a fifth-round draft pick who made his NFL debut in the second quarter of last week’s seven-point victory at Jacksonville.

Though Yates lacks experience, Owens knows he is surrounded by great playmakers — a list that includes Johnson and running backs Arian Foster and Ben Tate.

“We’ve got to stop the big play,” Owens said. “No explosive passes. They like to take a lot of shots with their big receivers.

“They’ve got long, fast receivers. If we stop that in the secondary, we’ve got a chance.”

Yates completed just eight of 15 passes for 70 yards and no touchdowns last week, but played well enough in the emergency role to earn his first career start.

Now that Yates has had a week of practice with Johnson — who caught two passes for 22 yards last week after missing five games with a right hamstring injury — Owens believes the five-time Pro Bowl wideout won’t need long to find some rhythm.

“He’s as good as it gets in the NFL, but it helps me and Dominique to be getting lots of reps in practice,” Owens said.

“That’s really important. When you’re coming off a week without much practice and then you’re expected to contribute in the game, you’ve just got to be ready. That’s what we’re paid to do. No excuses.”

Yates will target Foster on routes and make use of a versatile receiving corps that includes Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones and tight end Joel Dreessen.

“I’m very impressed with what they do schematically on offense,” said Atlanta head coach Mike Smith. “It puts a lot of stress on your defense.”

Falcons defensive end John Abraham, a four-time Pro Bowl selection in 12 seasons, knows the Texans haven’t traditionally given up lots of sacks.

Abraham believes Houston won’t ask Yates to extend plays too often. Kubiak will want him to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands quickly.

“The only thing we can hope for as far as bringing pressure is maybe to get to the rookie early and get him a little shook,” Abraham said. “But after going through two quarterbacks in two weeks, they’re smart enough that they’re not going to try to give him the whole playbook right now.”

Without a chance to bring steady pressure on Yates, the Falcons must make sure to tackle Johnson and Houston’s other playmakers early and often.

“It’s knowing the tendencies and what receivers like to do in certain formations and in down and distance,” Franks said, “that will give me a good jump on where I think the ball is going to go.”

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta needs Dominique Franks and Christopher Owens to step up at cornerback.

Starter Brent Grimes, an alternate Pro Bowl pick in 2010, had minor surgery Thursday on his right knee that will sideline him for two to four weeks. Franks and Owens say not to worry, they’re ready to handle a bigger role in his absence.

The Falcons (7-4) have yet to decide if they will start Franks or Owens on the left side Sunday at Houston (8-3), but either way, both players will take plenty of snaps.

Atlanta uses a nickel scheme about 55 percent of the time, so a lot will be asked of Franks, a 2010 fifth-round draft pick with no career starts, and Owens, a third-year Atlanta veteran with 10 career starts.

“It’s too bad that I had to get this opportunity because of some injuries,” Franks said Thursday. “We’re having to sit Grimey out and (Kelvin) Hayden out, but it really helps to be learning from those guys each week and preparing myself like I’m going to play. I’m just staying with the same routine.”

Franks and Owens have watched extra film this week with Dunta Robinson, the starting right cornerback who played his first six seasons with Houston. Robinson has spoken about the perils of covering All-Pro receiver Andre Johnson even though the Texans have lost their top two quarterbacks, Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, to season-ending injuries.

Houston will start rookie T.J. Yates, a fifth-round draft pick who made his NFL debut in the second quarter of last week’s seven-point victory at Jacksonville. Though Yates lacks experience, Owens knows he is surrounded by great playmakers like Johnson and running backs Arian Foster and Ben Tate.

“We’ve got to stop the big play,” Owens said. “No explosive passes. They like to take a lot of shots with their big receivers. They’ve got long, fast receivers. If we stop that in the secondary, we’ve got a chance.”

Yates completed just eight of 15 passes for 70 yards and no touchdowns last week but played well enough to earn his first career start.

Now that Yates has had a week of practice with Johnson, who caught two passes for 22 yards last week after missing five games with a right hamstring injury, Owens believes the five-time Pro Bowl wideout won’t need long to find some rhythm.

“He’s as good as it gets in the NFL, but it helps me and Dominique to be getting lots of reps in practice,” Owens said. “That’s really important. When you’re coming off a week without much practice and then you’re expected to contribute in the game, you’ve just got to be ready.”

Against Jacksonville, Johnson caught his 700th pass in his 120th career game. Retired Indianapolis wideout Marvin Harrison is the only NFL receiver to catch that many passes in fewer games (114).

Yates will target Foster on routes and make use of a versatile receiving corps that includes Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones and tight end Joel Dreessen.

“They’re going to be base it off the stretch running game, a little bit of angle blocks and then the play-action,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. “I’m very impressed with what they do schematically on offense. It puts a lot of stress on your defense.”

Falcons defensive end John Abraham, a four-time Pro Bowl selection in 12 seasons, knows the Texans haven’t traditionally given up lots of sacks under sixth-year coach Gary Kubiak. Abraham believes Houston won’t ask Yates to extend plays too often. Kubiak will want him to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands quickly.

“The only thing we can hope for as far as bringing pressure is maybe to get to the rookie early and get him a little shook,” Abraham said. “But after going through two quarterbacks in two weeks, they’re smart enough that they’re not going to try to give him the whole playbook right now.”

Without a chance to bring steady pressure on Yates, the Falcons must make sure to tackle Johnson and Houston’s other playmakers early and often.

“It’s knowing the tendencies and what receivers like to do in certain formations and in down and distance,” Franks said, “that will give me a good jump on where I think the ball is going to go.”

Read More: Michael Turner (RB – ATL), Julio Jones (WR – ATL), Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans

If you’ve been keeping up with the injury reports on the Atlanta Falcons week to week, a name has been consistently on it, Julio Jones. Such is life for a hamstring injury, they linger. So as Jones continues to linger on the injury report, one name we haven’t seen on the report is the NFL’s 4th leading rusher Michael Turner.

Turner was held out of practice Wednesday due to issues with his groin, and his status is questionable for Sunday versus the Houston Texans.

Here is the full injury report for the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday:

Did not participate: DE John Abraham (not injury related), TE Tony Gonzalez (not injury related), CB Brent Grimes (knee), CB Kelvin Hayden (toe), WR Julio Jones (hamstring), C Todd McClure (not injury related), LB Stephen Nicholas (quadriceps), RB Michael Turner (groin), DT Vance Walker (groin)

Limited participation: T Sam Baker (back)

Full participation: CB Dunta Robinson (neck)

Fore more on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic. For info on the Houston Texans, check out Battle Red Blog, and for everything NFL, visit SB Nation’s NFL page.