Unsurprisingly, the interesting parts of the first half of the preseason game between the New York Jets and Houston Texans had nothing to do with the starters. Much like a lot of the other games in Week 1 of preseason, the stars only played for a series or two and looked entirely average. Things got fun when the second stringers came out, and the Texans have taken a 13-3 halftime lead thanks to great performances by Matt Leinart and their defense.
Jets Vs. Texans Score: Halftime, Texans Lead Behind Quality Performance By Matt Leinart
Yes, that Matt Leinart has looked very good in relief of Matt Schaub. Unlike most of his appearances with the Arizona Cardinals, Leinart has been very accurate, has some zip on his passes, and most surprisingly, is getting the ball out of his hand quickly. He's 7/11 passing for 76 yards and a touchdown, and that includes a couple of drops by his receivers.
His go-to man has been Chris Ogbonnaya, the Texans' third string running back. Arian Foster is out injured while Derrick Ward had to leave the game early, so it's been Ofbonnaya's time to shine. He's been average running the ball, rushing for 32 yards on 12 carries, but he has four receptions for an impressive 54 yards.
Going the other way, Greg McIlroy is not having a good outing for the Jets. In his defense, his receivers and blockers are not having a great game either, but he’s had a couple of extremely errant passes and was lucky to have an interception that was entirely his fault called back for illegal contact.
The biggest story on defense for the Texans has been rookie Brooks Reed, who looks like a monster. He has one pass defensed on a perfectly anticipated play at the line as well as two hits on McIlroy that forced incompletions.
For more on the Jets head over to Gang Green Nation. For more on the Texans, check out Battle Red Blog. Follow the rest of preseason week one at SB Nation NFL.
See More:
