Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins enoying superb season

HOUSTON - Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins' trademark moves, his one-handed catches, how he navigates the sidelines and creates separation made a difference during the Houston Texans' 34-6 victory Sunday over the Titans at Nissan Stadium. The newly-minted Pro Bowl selection caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown while being targeted 11 times.

"That's really a quarterback's best friend," Texans offensive coordinator George Godsey said of Hopkins following his sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season. "When you can physically outplay a defender, no matter who's back there at quarterback, that's always a good feeling. At least in the offensive staff's back pocket. I think we're going to try to utilize that as much as possible."

The Texans' game plan throughout the season has been built around capitalizing on Hopkins' unique talents.

Strong, deceptively fast and natural in his movements, Hopkins has piled up 104 catches for 1,432 yards and 11 touchdowns with one game remaining in the regular season and was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time.

Hopkins passed former Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson for the fourth-most catches in a season in franchise history and receiving yards, topping Johnson's total of 103 receptions in 2006 and 1,407 yards in 2013.

"He's a big part of what we do," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "He's an excellent football player. He can obviously jump up and catch the ball, but he's become a good route runner. He's got great hands. He's smart. He's done a good job for us."

What's made how Hopkins has excelled even more remarkable is he's done it while playing with four different quarterbacks this season. Hopkins has caught touchdowns from Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates and Brandon Weeden, the former third-string quarterback and Dallas Cowboys castoff who started his first game for the Texans on Sunday with Hoyer still dealing with a concussion and Yates out for the season with a knee injury.

"He's had a really good year," O'Brien said of Hopkins. "At times, it's probably been frustrating for him because they have double-teamed him and different teams have tried to take him out of the game, and he just keeps climbing.

"He's one of our hardest-working players. When you're always out there practicing, doesn't matter who the quarterback is."

Hopkins endured a three-game stretch where defenses effectively contained him as he was limited to 4.3 catches and 58.6 yards per contest. He's figured out how to remain productive no matter who's under center, though. His next complaint about the quarterback situation would be his first as he's remained stoic about the constant quarterback shuffle in the backfield.

"It's definitely not frustrating at all," Hopkins said. "I find it as a challenge and a test. That's the kind of player I am. I love things like that. I love challenges thrown my way.

"That's how I've been my whole life. I think the guys that they brought in have been very high IQ football guys, so it definitely has not been frustrating. They got me in the Pro Bowl, so it's definitely not frustrating at all."

One week after Hopkins caught eight passes for 94 yards during a win over the Indianapolis Colts, Weeden made it a special point to try to deliver the football to him. That included a well-timed 44-yard sideline pass, at the expense of Sensabaugh, a one-handed grab on the other side of the field and a diving Hopkins catch to position the Texans for a touchdown.

"The thing I like about Hop, he's a quiet guy," Weeden said. "He has a great demeanor about him. He doesn't come over whooping and hollering, going crazy and telling everybody to throw him the ball.

"He has patience, he understands it. So, guys like that I have a lot of respect for. I told him I would be stupid to not throw him the ball, so I'm going to throw you the football. He's a heck of a football player."

Despite Hopkins' individual success, he's not entirely satisfied with his production. There were a few passes that eluded his grasp and more defenders he could have made miss during the course of the season.

"I feel like I could've did a lot of things better," Hopkins said. "Even though I had a Pro Bowl season, I left a lot of yards on the field, so I've got a lot of room to improve in."

--Brandon Weeden gazed downfield Sunday, scanning the defense and searching in vain for an open receiver as he directed traffic by pointing with his off hand.

Nothing materialized, though, despite an eternity of time with optimal protection. So Weeden reluctantly did something out of character. He took off running and bolted into the open field with surprising mobility to scramble for a 7-yard touchdown run during a 34-6 victory Sunday over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.

It was the kind of decisive, sharp play the Texans needed from the former Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns quarterback as he engineered a blowout win while rushing for the first touchdown of his NFL career.

The win also marked Weeden's first as a starter since a 30-7 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 9, 2012, his rookie year with the Browns. Weeden had gone 0-11 as a starter with the Browns and Cowboys during the three years since that game, a span of 1,113 days. That included being winless in three starts for Dallas this season in relief of an injured Tony Romo.

In a game the Texans (8-7) needed to position themselves to potentially clinch the AFC South division and a playoff berth this week, Weeden delivered a strong performance.

"It feels good," Weeden said. "That's probably the most satisfying thing. We needed this one. It feels good personally. I'm more excited for this team.

"I've only been here for a month. So get in a rhythm, get comfortable, start seeing things slowing down. It starts with getting early and easy completions."

Weeden completed 15 of 24 passes for 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a career-high 116.7 passer rating.

Weeden was the fourth quarterback to start a game this season for the Texans, including Brian Hoyer, T.J. Yates and Ryan Mallett. The potentially chaotic situation was met with poise by Weeden, who manufactured a comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts a week ago when Yates blew out his knee.

Weeden started this game in place of Hoyer, who remained under the NFL concussion testing protocol and will regain his starting job when he's healthy.

"Awesome job, consummate professional," Washington said of Weeden. "No offense to anyone, but the media tends to put a perception on guys. You never know when a guy comes into the locker room. We had heard so much about Brandon Weeden through the media and watching him play games.

"He has stayed in that film room with [offensive coordinator] George Godsey and he was poised and got us in the right positions to make some plays. Hat's off to him and his professionalism. We're very grateful to have him in our locker room."

--Tests revealed no structural damage to outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney's injured left foot.

Clowney was in a walking boot Sunday after leaving the game against the Tennessee Titans.

"Clowney, he's day-to-day right now," O'Brien said. "It's a foot issue. There's no structural damage there, so it's just day-to-day and we'll see how that goes as the week progresses."

O'Brien said that Clowney hasn't been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and there's a possibility he could play in the regular-season finale.

"Yeah, I'll be all right," Clowney said Sunday. "I'm good. I feel pretty good."

--Popular reserve cornerback Charles James' season is over.

The former Hard Knocks hero has been playing with a fractured foot for a month. He fully fractured it Sunday and will be placed on injured reserve.

"He's been trying to gut it out and tough it out," O'Brien said. "He has done that. He's practiced and played and he's done a good job."

-- Texans rookie wide receiver Jaelen Strong is staying involved in the offense because of his overall progress and upgraded conditioning as well as veteran Cecil Shorts being sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Strong caught two passes for 18 yards against the Tennessee Titans on five targets one week after catching the game-winning touchdown pass against the Indianapolis Colts.

Since reporting in the spring at 231 pounds after being drafted in the third round out of Arizona State, Strong has dieted and exercised his way down to 197 pounds and is noticeably faster in the open field. He nearly blocked a punt against the Colts, too.

"He's really improved in practice," O'Brien said of Strong, who's caught eight passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns. "He's improved his conditioning. He's improved his knowledge of our offense. He's a good kid. He's a fun, fun guy to coach. Very intense and works hard in practice. I think he's got a good future."

--The Texans' offensive line went through a myriad of configurations during the first half of the season, an unwanted development that led to sacks, poor run blocking and a lack of cohesiveness.

Over the past seven games, though, going back to an upset win over the previously unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 16, the Texans have had continuity along the offensive line.

They've used the same starting combination - left tackle Duane Brown, left guard Xavier Su'a-Filo, center Ben Jones, right guard Brandon Brooks and right tackle Derek Newton - with the exception of a loss to the Buffalo Bills when Brooks was out with nausea and extreme sweating. They've won five of those seven games.

For the season, the Texans have allowed 34 sacks. Despite the season-ending torn Achilles of Pro Bowl runner Arian Foster, the Texans have rushed for 1,571 yards and six touchdowns.

"I give those guys a lot of credit," O'Brien said. "I think one of the keys there is that over the last few weeks, we've been able to stay fairly healthy. So, you have the same five guys out there for the most part.

"I think that continuity really does help. You really don't want to have to move guys all around all the time, but we had to do that in the beginning because we had injuries. I think the continuity up front has helped us."

NOTES: Defensive end J.J. Watt recorded his first sack on Sunday since breaking his left hand. ... Defensive end Jared Crick didn't aggravate a back injury and finished the game. ... Wide receiver Cecil Shorts is out for the second week in a row with a hamstring injury. Shorts got hurt against the Indianapolis Colts. "I would say that Cecil Shorts would not be ready this week," O'Brien said ... Quarterback Brian Hoyer is nearing his return from a concussion after missing the past two games.