The Houston Texans are enjoying the spoils of a late comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, but that result was far from a certainty with 46 seconds left to go in the game.
That was when Houston regained possession of the football after a Tampa score that gave the Bucs the lead late in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Noah Brown was asked this week if he and his team had any doubt that they would be able to pull out such a late win, and his answer shed some light on the locker room's mentality at this point of the season.
"We made a decision at halftime that we weren't coming out without a W," Brown said. "One play that stood out to me--I don't even think we got points on the drive--but it was like third and 14, we threw a screen to Nico. We said in the huddle 'We're getting this first down no matter what.'
"For us to get it, it gave us that confidence that when we're focused and on it, we can get our job done."
Although he did not score the game-deciding touchdown, Brown did finish the day as the Texans' leading receiver, racking up 153 yards and a score on six catches, by far his most productive day of the season through nine weeks.
Brown isn't the only Texan who has oozed confidence lately. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud also voiced to his teammates that he and the offense were about to lead the comeback drive right before it happened. It appears at the halfway point of the NFL season that morale and confidence are high in Houston.
That confidence will be tested this week when the Texans play the always-dangerous Cincinnati Bengals on the road. That game, scheduled for Sunday, is set for a 12 p.m. CT kickoff, and it will be televised on CBS.
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