Detroit fans are thankful for Calvin Johnson today.
Megatron already has five catches for 103 yards at halftime, including a 22-yard touchdown catch just before the two-minute warning, which gave the Lions a 21-14 lead over the Texans. Johnson has been hobbled by multiple injuries and missing a lot of practice in recent weeks, but it hasn’t affected him on game days: This is Johnson’s fourth straight game over 100 yards.
The Lions’ passing game is working as well as it has all season, aided in part by the absence of Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph. Receivers Ryan Broyles and Mike Thomas are having solid games (and perhaps supplanting Titus Young, who was benched this week for bad behavior, on the depth chart), and tight ends Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler are playing well too.
The Texans’ passing game is looking good as well. Andre Johnson has made a couple of huge plays himself, and has three catches for 87 yards at the half. Matt Schaub has played very well despite a lot of pressure (and some borderline cheap shots) from Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
At halftime, Boomer Esiason of CBS said of Suh, “I would never shake this guy’s hand. Once again he has crossed over the line and it’s obvious it’s on purpose.”
Houston’s offensive line needs to keep Suh away from Schaub, and Houston’s secondary needs to find an answer for Megatron, or else the Texans are heading for their second loss of the season.