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Osweiler Shines in Texans’ Preseason Victory

Flathead High alumnus led Houston to scores on three of his four drives and threw for 146 yards

By KRISTIE RIEKEN, Associated Press

HOUSTON — Pro Bowl receiver DeAndre Hopkins couldn’t quit smiling Sunday after the Houston Texans’ 34-24 exhibition victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

He’s beginning to see just how good this offense can be now that new quarterback Brock Osweiler is settling into his role.

“The mindset that we have when we go out there is that we can’t be stopped and today kind of showed that,” Hopkins said.

Osweiler threw for 146 yards and a touchdown and Houston intercepted two of Carson Palmer’s passes to help the Texans improve to 3-0 in the preseason. The Cardinals are 0-3.

Osweiler led the Texans to scores on three of his four drives. He connected with Fuller on a 26-yard touchdown pass that extended Houston’s lead to 24-10 before sitting down with about three minutes left in the first half.

It was Osweiler’s second successful outing after he and Houston’s starting offense struggled in the team’s first preseason game.

“We’re constantly improving, we’re fixing mistakes and we’re getting better each week,” Osweiler said. “That’s really what you want to see at this point in time.”

While Osweiler was solid, Houston’s starting defense starred. Andre Hal intercepted Palmer’s second pass of the day to set up Houston’s first score, a 1-yard touchdown run by new running back Lamar Miller.

Palmer’s second drive was his only clean one, and it ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by David Johnson.

On Arizona’s next possession, linebacker John Simon tipped a pass by Palmer, intercepted it and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown. It was the second straight game in which Palmer had an interception returned for a touchdown after Brandon Flowers did it in last week in a 9-3 loss at San Diego.

“It’s easy to evaluate that game: it’s just called turnovers,” Arizona coach Bruce Arians said.

Palmer attempted to tackle Simon after the interception and was tackled by 305-pound defensive end Devon Still, a hit that knocked the quarterback’s helmet off. Arians had seen enough after that hit, and Palmer was replaced by Drew Stanton.

Palmer chipped a tooth on the play.