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Rookie Taylor sparks Texans to win in season finale

Dec 31, 2006 - 11:25 PM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Rookie Chris Taylor gave coach Gary Kubiak another running back to consider in 2007.

Taylor rushed for a season-high 99 yards and a touchdown to lead the Houston Texans to a 14-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

The Texans (6-10) tripled their win total under Kubiak, who took over from Dom Capers after last season.

"It feels good to know that we've got a lot to look forward to in 2007," Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson said. "After a 2-14 season, we didn't know what was going to happen this year. We closed it out on the right note, winning two straight games."

Finding a reliable running back was a problem throughout the season for the Texans. Ron Dayne and rookie Wali Lundy were the backs mostly utilized by Kubiak, who waited for the season finale to unveil Taylor, an undrafted free agent from Indiana who was signed from the practice squad earlier in the month.

Taylor scored on a five-yard run and defensive tackle Anthony Maddox returned a fumble 47 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter for the Texans, who won consecutive games for the first time since 2004.

Dayne was supposed to start for Houston, but aggravated an ankle injury in warmups.

"Ronnie re-rolled his ankle (in warmups)," Kubiak said. "I didn't know Chris was about to go the whole day, but he has some explosion. He has some speed."

Charlie Frye returned for Cleveland (4-12) after missing the last three games with a wrist injury, but had a fumble returned for a touchdown and also threw an interception.

"I wanted to help my team out today and the best way I can do that is to try and play," said Frye, who was 25-of-34 for 187 yards. "There were a couple of balls that came out of my hand pretty bad."

Houston's David Carr attempted just 15 passes, completing nine for 86 yards with an interception.

"I know it feels better winning three times as many games as last season," Carr said.

Phil Dawson kicked a pair of field goals for the Browns (4-12), who finished with two fewer wins than last season under coach Romeo Crennel.

"We tried to finish the season on a positive note and were not able to do that," Crennel said. "I think the game was a microcosm of our season. We got scoring position, had turnovers, couldn't put points on the board."

Dawson kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Browns a 3-0 lead. But Cleveland had three other possessions in Texans' territory that ended with an interception, a fumble and a missed field goal.

The Texans opened the second half with a nine-play, 70-yard drive. Taylor rushed for 40 yards on six carries in the drive, including a five-yard touchdown with 10:19 left in the third quarter.

Maddox stripped the ball from Frye, recovered the fumble and rumbled 47 yards for a score to increase the lead to 14-3 with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter.

"I got off the ball fast and swiped at the ball," Maddox said. "The ball was rolling around on the turf and I jumped on it. Everyone was yelling 'get up, get up.' I got up with the ball in my hand and ran towards the end zone. About 30 seconds later, I was there. I was tired after that."

Dawson kicked a 36-yard field goal with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter.