Texans had rare game with two 16-play drives

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky <p>Doug Kern of ESPN Stats and Analysis just sent me an email with some great nuggets concerning something the Texans did Sunday in their win over the Titans.</p> <p>Turns out it synched up a bit with the San Francisco 49ers' losing effort in Miami.</p> <ul><li>The Texans had two drives of 16 plays each in their victory over Tennessee. They made a field goal on the first play of the 2nd quarter, and missed a field goal in the 3rd quarter.</li><li>The 49ers had two drives of 16 plays each in their loss to Miami. One in the 2nd quarter ended with a punt (after two sacks and a penalty), and one in the 3rd quarter ended with a field goal.\</li></ul> <p>These teams are the first two this season to have two drives of 16 or more plays in the same game. The last to do it was Tampa Bay, who scored a touchdown and missed a field goal at Detroit on Oct. 21, 2007. (The Bucs had a 15-play drive in that game as well.)<br clear="none" /> <br clear="none" /> Each team had one of their 16-play drives where they didn't score.</p> <p>Only four other teams this year have done that:</p> <ul><li>Green Bay had the ball for 16 plays and 8:01 against Dallas in Week 3 before throwing an interception.</li><li>Tampa Bay ran 16 plays against Dallas in Week 8 while trying to drive for a game-winning score. They ended up failing on 4th down at the Cowboys' 18.</li><li>The Jets ran out the last 16 plays and 11:09 of the game in Week 10 when they already had a lead on the Rams 47-3.</li><li>The Bills had an 18-play drive two weeks ago and missed a field goal. Oddly enough, that was against the 49ers.Â*</li></ul> <p>The Texans' 16-play non-scoring drive is their first since Nov. 11, 2006 at Jacksonville when they missed a field goal.</p> <p>League-wide, and including these four by the Texans and 49ers Sunday, there have been 29 drives this season of 16 plays of more. Remarkably, they've resulted in only 10 touchdowns and 13 field goals.</p> <p>Here's a breakdown of every 16-play drive in the NFL since 2001, including playoffs:</p> <p>Total drives 260<br clear="none" /> Touchdowns 109<br clear="none" /> Field goals 100<br clear="none" /> Missed FG 18<br clear="none" /> Downs 19<br clear="none" /> Turnovers 9<br clear="none" /> End of half 4<br clear="none" /> Punts 1*</p> <p>*The 49ers on Sunday</p>

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