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Brown boots Texans past winless Dolphins

Oct 7, 2007 - 10:39 PM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Kris Brown booted the Houston Texans to another win while adding to the Miami Dolphins' early season woes.

Brown drilled a 57-yard field goal - his fifth of the contest - with one second remaining Sunday to lift the Texans to a 22-19 triumph over the winless Dolphins.

The last-second win snapped a two-game skid for Houston (3-2), which dropped a 24-14 decision to the lowly Atlanta Falcons last week. It marks the first time in franchise history that the Texans have had a winning record five games into a season.

"During practice with the wind, my longest was 70," Brown said. "It was actually in Nebraska, but I'm not going to tell you how much wind I had at my back.

"In my mind-set, I tell myself to just enjoy the moment right now. I think every game-winning kick is something you have to savor. That why I do what I do. That's why I play this game, and why I play at this level."

Conversely, the Dolphins (0-5) still are searching for a win under first-year coach Cam Cameron and are mired in an eight-game skid dating to last season, the longest losing streak in franchise history.

"Let's not kid ourselves," Cameron said. "Standing up here after you come up short, talking about positives wears thin with everybody. I'm not here to do that to our fans or anybody else."

Miami is off to its worst start since 2004, when it opened with six consecutive losses.

To make matters worse, Miami lost starting quarterback Trent Green, who was carried off the field on a stretcher after suffering a concussion in the first quarter.

"When you're uncertain to what's taking place and you know it's out of your hands, you just pray for the best," Cameron said. "Again, it's just a real plus that he'll be on the plane with us on the way back, and we'll give you an update tomorrow."

Brown, who converted a game-winning field goal against Miami four years ago, also made field goals of 54, 43, 54 and 20 yards. He became just the third kicker in NFL history to convert three field goals of at least 50 yards in the same contest.

"I knew it was a long one, I didn't know it was 57 yards," Brown said. "I just told myself 'make good contact and let's go home.'"

Starting from its own 3-yard line with 1:33 remaining, Houston marched 59 yards in a span of 87 seconds thanks to Matt Schaub, who completed four passes on the drive - including three for first downs.

Schaub hooked up with Kevin Walter for an 8-yard completion with 22 seconds left, moving the ball to the Miami 38 and setting the stage for Brown.

Tight end Owen Daniels caught passes of 14 and 19 yards early in the drive to give life to a march that didn't appear would ever materialize.

"We've got the best kicker in the league," Daniels said. "I think he proved that. Until I caught that first pass, I thought we were just going to run out the clock.

"When we got good field position, I knew we were going to try to score."

Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Brown's kicking effort is the best he's seen.

"I've been doing this a long time, and I've never seen a kicking performance like the one the kid put on today," Kubiak said. "I'll tell you the thing nobody knows - the kid has a problem with his foot.

"He came in at halftime and took a shot so that he could go back out for his team. That tells you what's going on with this team right now. That's as impressive as I've ever seen. I'm kind of at a loss for words. I don't know if we'll ever see that again."

Acquired in an offseason trade with the Atlanta Falcons, Schaub has been very efficient in his first season as a starter, completing 71 percent of his passes (111-for-157) over Houston's first five games.

Despite playing without injured wide receivers Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones on Sunday, Schaub completed 20-of-34 passes for 294 yards and one interception.

Schaub's favorite target was Daniels, who finished with six catches for a season-high 96 yards. Walter had five receptions for 67 yards while Andre Davis chipped in 79 yards on four catches for the Texans, who converted 6-of-12 third downs.

Houston also without running back Ahman Green, who missed his second straight contest with a knee injury. Ron Dayne struggled filling in for Green, rushing for just 40 yards on 16 carries.

Ronnie Brown was one of the few bright spots for Miami, rushing for 114 yards on 23 carries while hauling in five catches for 39 yards.

But Brown's solid performance was overshadowed by the injury to Green, was injured while blocking on a reverse with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter.

The 37-year-old Green, who has a history of concussion problems, attempted to cut block Houston's Travis Johnson but was drilled in the head by the defensive tackle's knee.

After being examined by medical officials for nearly five minutes, Green was carried off the field and was replaced by Cleo Lemon. The Dolphins gathered to pray near midfield while Green was being treated.

Acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs last June, Green missed half of the 2006 campaign after suffering a concussion in the season opener.

Lemon was unspectacular filling in for Green, going 15-of-27 for 151 yards and one interception.

Dayne opened the scoring just over six minutes into the contest with a 1-yard TD plunge, his first score of the season.

After Miami's Jay Feely kicked a 23-yard field goal, Ronnie Brown scored on a 3-yard run with 16 seconds remaining in the opening quarter to make it 10-7. Feely drilled a pair of second-quarter field goals to give Miami a nine-point advantage.

But after connecting on a 54-yard field goal just 46 seconds before the break, Kris Brown converted two more field goals in the third quarter - including another 54-yarder - to draw the Texans even at 16-16.

Feely made a 48-yarder just over two minutes into the fourth quarter to give Miami a 19-16 lead. But Houston forged a tie on Kris Brown's 20-yarder, capping a 14-play drive which spanned over seven minutes.