In the second week of the NFL season the Miami Dolphins lost to the Houston Texas 23 to13 in Miami. This loss put the Dolphins record to 0-2 and in last place in the AFC East Division.
The Dolphins never did lead in this contest and only managed one touchdown. In the first quarter the Dolphins could only score three points coming off a 42 yard Dan Carpenter field goal. The field goal was the result of a 7 play 65 yard drive in which Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne complete a 41 yard pass to wide receiver Devone Bess for a 41 yard gain. The score at the end of the quarter was Texas 6 Dolphins 3.
Early in the second quarter the Dolphin defense gave up a 4 yard touchdown pass to the Texans making the score Texans 13 Dolphins 3. Two plays earlier deep in the Dolphins own territory a Chad Henne pass was intercepted and returned to the Dolphins 6 yard line. The Dolphins missed out on two more scoring opportunities by failing to convert on two field goals. Near the beginning of the second quarter a 22 yard field was blocked and towards the 5 minute mark of the quarter Dan Carpenter missed a 34 yard field goal. The Texas put together a rather impressive two minute drill by driving the ball 58 yards in 9 plays leading to a 36 yard Neil Rackers field goal with no time remaining in the first half making the halftime score Texans 16 Dolphins 3. The highlight of the quarter for the Dolphins was 14 play 75 yard drive that lead to no points.
In the third quarter the Dolphins defense played well only allowing the Texans a total of 25 yards off three possessions forcing them to punt each time leaving the Texans scoreless for the quarter. The Dolphins offense was also productive in this quarter by scoring a touchdown off a 7 play 62 yard drive highlighted by 12 yard Chad Henne touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall. This made the score at the end of the quarter Texas 16 Dolphins 10.
In the beginning of the fourth quarter the Dolphins scored 3 points of a 34 yard Dan Carpenter field. This was the result of an 11 play 75 yard drive which brought the score to Texans 16 Dolphins 13. The Texans then made a statement first by returning the following kickoff to their own 37 yard then the Texans drove 63 yards in 5 plays scoring off a 4 yard touchdown run by Ben Tate making the score Texas 23 Dolphins 13. For the rest of the game neither was able to enter into scoring territory making the final Texas 23 Dolphins 13.
The Texas quarterback Matt Schaub had the better day as he completed 21 out of 29 passes for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Dolphins Chad Henne only completed 12 out of 30 passes for 170, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Texans running back Ben Tate rushed 23 for 103 yards while the Dolphins leading rusher was Daniel Thomas who had 18 rushed for 107 yards. The win by the Texans makes them 2-0 in this young season while the Dolphins loss leaves them winless at 0-2.
