Week 1, 1985

played in Birmingham, AL

90 degrees, rain, 16 mph wind

Houston Titans	10	0	7	6	-	23
Birmingham Texans	3	0	3	0	-	6

Scoring Summary
1Q: 13:04 HOU - Herschel Walker 56 run (Norm Johnson extra point)
1Q: 06:23 BIR - Ali Haji-Sheikh 27 field goal
1Q: 03:09 HOU - Norm Johnson 39 field goal
3Q: 05:47 BIR - Ali Haji-Sheikh 29 field goal
3Q: 04:44 HOU - Louis Lipps 44 pass from Doug Williams (Norm Johnson extra point)
4Q: 11:34 HOU - Norm Johnson 45 field goal
4Q: 04:53 HOU - Norm Johnson 30 field goal

Scoring Summary
1Q: 13:04 HOU - Herschel Walker 56 run (Norm Johnson extra point)
1Q: 06:23 BIR - Ali Haji-Sheikh 27 field goal
1Q: 03:09 HOU - Norm Johnson 39 field goal
3Q: 05:47 BIR - Ali Haji-Sheikh 29 field goal
3Q: 04:44 HOU - Louis Lipps 44 pass from Doug Williams (Norm Johnson extra point)
4Q: 11:34 HOU - Norm Johnson 45 field goal
4Q: 04:53 HOU - Norm Johnson 30 field goal

Team Statistics HOU BIR
Record 1-0 0-1
First Downs 13 22
- by Rushing 9 6
- by Passing 4 10
- by Penalty 0 6
Total Net Yards 303 308
- Offensive Plays 47 78
- Yards per Play 6.45 3.95
Net Rushing Yards 201 89
- Rushing Attempts 36 30
- Yards per Rush 5.58 2.97
Net Passing Yards 102 219
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt 9 - 4 - 1 44 - 26 - 0
- Gross Passing Yards 115 245
- Sacks/Yards Lost 2/13 4/26
- Yards per Pass Play 9.27 4.56
Fumbles/Lost 2/0 1/0
3rd Down Conversions 5/12 6/18
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down 7.2 6.3
4th Down Conversions 0/0 0/1
Penalties/Yards 6/75 6/50
Punt Returns/Yards 3/19 3/21
Kick Returns/Yards 3/76 4/99
Interception Ret./Yards 0/0 1/20
2pt Conversions 0/0 0/0
Red Zone Visits 2 3
- Red Zone TDs/FGs 0/2 0/2
Avg. Drive Start OWN 28 OWN 33
Time of Possession 25:14 34:46

Team Statistics	HOU	BIR
Record	1-0	0-1
First Downs	13	22
- by Rushing	9	6
- by Passing	4	10
- by Penalty	0	6
Total Net Yards	303	308
- Offensive Plays	47	78
- Yards per Play	6.45	3.95
Net Rushing Yards	201	89
- Rushing Attempts	36	30
- Yards per Rush	5.58	2.97
Net Passing Yards	102	219
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt	9 - 4 - 1	44 - 26 - 0
- Gross Passing Yards	115	245
- Sacks/Yards Lost	2/13	4/26
- Yards per Pass Play	9.27	4.56
Fumbles/Lost	2/0	1/0
3rd Down Conversions	5/12	6/18
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down	7.2	6.3
4th Down Conversions	0/0	0/1
Penalties/Yards	6/75	6/50
Punt Returns/Yards	3/19	3/21
Kick Returns/Yards	3/76	4/99
Interception Ret./Yards	0/0	1/20
2pt Conversions	0/0	0/0
Red Zone Visits	2	3
- Red Zone TDs/FGs	0/2	0/2
Avg. Drive Start	OWN 28	OWN 33
Time of Possession	25:14	34:46

Drive Charts

Houston Titans
Quar	Began	Poss	From	Plays	Yards	Result
1	15:00	2:11	OWN 30	4	70	Touchdown
1	6:18	3:14	OWN 32	4	46	Field Goal
2	14:51	3:27	OWN 13	7	33	Interception
2	7:50	2:24	OWN 20	4	12	Punt
2	4:09	1:29	OWN 20	3	7	Punt
2	1:06	1:06	OWN 20	3	23	Half
3	11:16	1:09	OWN 16	3	6	Punt
3	5:42	1:16	OPP 45	2	45	Touchdown
3	0:23	3:56	OWN 37	8	35	Field Goal
4	9:08	4:21	OPP 32	6	19	Field Goal
4	2:02	0:34	OWN 3	3	7	Punt

Birmingham Texans
Quar	Began	Poss	From	Plays	Yards	Result
1	12:49	6:31	OPP 49	11	39	Field Goal
1	3:04	3:13	OWN 20	6	25	Punt
2	11:24	3:34	OWN 34	8	28	Punt
2	5:26	1:17	OWN 42	3	4	Punt
2	2:40	1:34	OWN 26	5	14	Punt
3	15:00	3:44	OWN 33	6	18	Punt
3	10:07	4:25	OWN 39	11	49	Field Goal
3	4:26	4:03	OWN 20	8	50	Missed FG
4	11:27	2:19	OWN 31	3	9	Punt
4	4:47	2:45	OWN 23	14	74	Downs
4	1:28	1:28	OWN 46	7	23	Game

Game MVP: Herschel Walker, Houston Titans

Rushing Statistics

Houston	Att	Yards	Avg	LG	10+	TD
Herschel Walker	26	170	6.54	56	5	1
Gerald Riggs	8	20	2.50	4	0	0
Doug Williams	1	11	11.00	11	1	0
Jessie Clark	1	0	0.00	0	0	0

Birmingham	Att	Yards	Avg	LG	10+
Earl Campbell	19	74	3.89	11	2
Ron Davenport	7	6	0.86	5	0
Tony Eason	4	9	2.25	3	0

Passing Statistics

Houston	Att	Comp	Yards	Sk/Yd	TD	LG	Int	Rate
Doug Williams	9	4	115	2/13	1	46	1	88.7

Birmingham	Att	Comp	Yards	Sk/Yd	TD	LG	Int	Rate
Tony Eason	41	24	225	4/26	0	36	0	73.7
Zechariah Barber III	3	2	20	0/0	0	12	0	85.4

Receiving Statistics

Houston	Catch	Targ	Yards	Avg	YAC	LG	TD
WR Louis Lipps	2	4	54	27.00	1	44	1
TE Pat Beach	1	2	46	46.00	8	46	0
WR Henry Ellard	1	3	15	15.00	2	15	0

Birmingham	Catch	Targ	Yards	Avg	YAC	LG
RB Earl Campbell	6	8	37	6.17	17	17
WR Doug Donley	6	7	33	5.50	9	10
WR Irving Fryar	5	9	45	9.00	13	20
WR Charley Young	3	3	33	11.00	9	13
WR Gerald Carter	2	8	38	19.00	26	26
WR Terry Metcalf	1	1	36	36.00	31	36
TE John Tice	1	2	6	6.00	0	6
FB Ron Davenport	1	3	7	7.00	0	7
C Harper LeBel	1	3	10	10.00	0	10

Interception Statistics

Houston	Ints	Yards	Avg	TD

Birmingham	Ints	Yards	Avg	TD
CB Jerry Holmes	1	20	20.00	0

Fumble Statistics

Houston	Fumb	Recov	Force
Gerald Riggs	1	0	1
Doug Williams	1	0	0
Jeff Bostic	0	1	0
John Alt	0	1	0

Birmingham	Fumb	Recov	Force
Terry Metcalf	1	0	0
Carlton Williamson	0	1	1
Sam Merriman	0	0	1

Punting Statistics

Houston	Punt	Yards	Avg	Net	LG	In20
Brian Hansen	4	177	44.3	39.0	49	0

Birmingham	Punt	Yards	Avg	Net	LG	In20
Jim Arnold	6	226	37.7	27.8	54	3

Kicking Statistics

Houston	FGs	40+Yd	50+Yd	LG	PAT
Norm Johnson	3/3	1/1	0/0	45	2/2

Birmingham	FGs	40+Yd	50+Yd	LG	PAT
Ali Haji-Sheikh	2/3	0/1	0/0	29	0/0

Punt Return Statistics

Houston	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Gerald Riggs	3	19	6.3	0

Birmingham	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Charley Young	2	5	2.5	0
Terry Metcalf	1	16	16.0	0

Kick Return Statistics

Houston	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Gerald Riggs	2	57	28.5	0
Bobby Kemp	1	19	19.0	0

Birmingham	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Terry Metcalf	4	99	24.8	0

Defensive Statistics

Houston	Tack	Asst	Sack	RPlay	PPlay
ILB Randy McClanahan	10	2	0.0	22	39
ILB Riki Ellison	7	2	1.0	20	10
S David Greenwood	6	2	0.0	24	43
OLB Robin Cole	6	0	0.0	18	29
S Kirk Springs	5	0	0.0	25	42
OLB Mike McGraw	4	1	0.0	11	16
DT Bill Acker	4	0	0.0	22	26
OLB Andrew Melontree	3	1	0.0	13	6
CB Mike Richardson	3	1	0.0	24	35
DE Ken Kennard	2	1	1.0	17	28
S Bobby Kemp	2	1	0.0	9	34
CB Jeris White	2	0	0.0	20	32
DE Dexter Manley	2	0	0.0	23	29
DE Jim Jeffcoat	1	3	1.0	16	31
ILB Bill Matthews	1	0	1.0	6	7
OLB Simon Fletcher	1	2	0.0	23	34
RB Herschel Walker	1	0	---	---	---
S Martin Bayless	0	2	0.0	3	6
DT Mike Golic	0	1	0.0	14	30
CB Tory Nixon	0	1	0.0	10	28

Birmingham	Tack	Asst	Sack	RPlay	PPlay
S Carlton Williamson	9	2	0.0	34	11
OLB Sam Merriman	7	2	1.5	34	10
ILB Mike Hunt	4	3	0.0	23	7
S Russell Gary	4	1	0.0	22	7
CB Steve Haworth	4	0	0.0	21	5
DE Fletcher Jenkins	3	2	0.5	22	8
DT Jermaine Perkins	3	1	0.0	28	8
ILB Jerry Robinson	2	3	0.0	31	9
S Mike Burns	2	1	0.0	29	8
CB David Martin	2	0	0.0	28	10
S Tommy Marvaso	0	2	0.0	15	6
CB Jerry Holmes	0	2	0.0	28	5
DT Pat Ogrin	0	1	0.0	7	2

Pass Rush Statistics

Houston	Sack	Block	Hurry	Knock	PPlay
DE Jim Jeffcoat	1.0	0	2	1	31
ILB Bill Matthews	1.0	0	1	0	7
DE Ken Kennard	1.0	0	0	0	28
ILB Riki Ellison	1.0	0	0	0	10
DE Dexter Manley	0.0	1	1	2	29
OLB Simon Fletcher	0.0	0	2	0	34
OLB Robin Cole	0.0	0	1	0	29

Birmingham	Sack	Block	Hurry	PPlay
OLB Sam Merriman	1.5	0	0	10
DE Fletcher Jenkins	0.5	0	0	8
ILB Mike Hunt	0.0	1	0	7
OLB Bob Brudzinski	0.0	0	1	10

Pass Defense Statistics

Houston	Caught	Defnsd	PPlay
ILB Randy McClanahan	5	0	39
OLB Robin Cole	4	0	29
S Kirk Springs	4	0	42
S David Greenwood	4	0	43
CB Mike Richardson	3	1	35
OLB Andrew Melontree	2	0	6
CB Jeris White	1	0	32
OLB Mike McGraw	1	0	16
S Bobby Kemp	1	0	34
ILB Riki Ellison	1	0	10
CB Tory Nixon	0	2	28
OLB Simon Fletcher	0	1	34

Birmingham	Caught	Defnsd	Intrcp	PPlay
CB Steve Haworth	2	0	0	5
S Mike Burns	1	0	0	8
ILB Jerry Robinson	1	0	0	9
S Tommy Marvaso	0	1	0	6
CB Jerry Holmes	0	0	1	5

Blocking Statistics

Houston	KeyBl	BlOpp	RPly	SckA	PPly
Dennis McKnight	2	7	34	1	10
Jim Rourke	2	4	27	1	9
John Alt	2	3	31	0	8
Robert Jackson	1	5	26	0	9
Jeff Bostic	1	5	32	0	9
Brad Benson	1	3	13	0	4
Pat Beach	1	2	26	0	6
Jessie Clark	1	2	21	0	6
Ralph Williams	0	3	12	0	2
Desmond Cribbs	0	1	5	0	4

Birmingham	KeyBl	BlOpp	RPly	SckA	PPly
Steve August	6	6	30	1	48
Ron Baker	2	8	30	2	48
Billy Ard	2	3	26	0	43
Carlton Malone	1	3	30	0	48
Eric Moran	1	1	4	0	5
Jim Sexton	0	2	30	1	48
Ron Davenport	0	2	24	0	28
Harper LeBel	0	1	17	0	20

Special Teams Tackles

Houston	Tackles	STPlays
Gerald Riggs	2	22
Larry Anderson	1	22
Bobby Kemp	1	16
Jewerl Thomas	1	10
Norm Johnson	1	9
Jessie Clark	1	7

Birmingham	Tackles	STPlays
Tommy Marvaso	3	17
Terry Metcalf	1	14
Mike Hunt	1	9
Ron Baker	1	5

Participation

Houston	RPlyOff	PPlyOff	RPlyDef	PPlyDef	STPly	Total Plays
Kirk Springs	---	---	25	42	12	79
Robin Cole	---	---	18	29	23	70
David Greenwood	---	---	24	43	3	70
Randy McClanahan	---	---	22	39	4	65
Mike Richardson	---	---	24	35	4	63
Bobby Kemp	---	---	9	34	16	59
Simon Fletcher	---	---	23	34	2	59
Jeris White	---	---	20	32	4	56
Larry Anderson	---	---	10	23	22	55
Ken Kennard	---	---	17	28	8	53
Dexter Manley	---	---	23	29	1	53
Mike Golic	---	---	14	30	8	52
Bill Acker	---	---	22	26	2	50
Jim Jeffcoat	---	---	16	31	2	49
Doug Williams	36	11	---	---	---	47
Jeff Bostic	32	9	---	---	5	46
Tory Nixon	---	---	10	28	8	46
Dennis McKnight	34	10	---	---	---	44
Robert Jackson	26	9	---	---	7	42
Pat Beach	26	6	---	---	9	41
Henry Ellard	29	10	---	---	---	39
John Alt	31	8	---	---	---	39
KD Dunn	16	7	---	---	14	37
Jim Rourke	27	9	---	---	---	36
Herschel Walker	28	7	---	---	---	35
Gerald Riggs	8	4	---	---	22	34
Jessie Clark	21	6	---	---	7	34
Riki Ellison	---	---	20	10	4	34
Louis Lipps	24	10	---	---	---	34
Mike McGraw	---	---	11	16	3	30
Brad Benson	13	4	---	---	7	24
Jewerl Thomas	10	3	---	---	10	23
Ralph Williams	12	2	---	---	7	21
Andrew Melontree	---	---	13	6	---	19
Desmond Cribbs	5	4	---	---	7	16
Lindsay Scott	1	0	---	---	15	16
Bill Matthews	---	---	6	7	2	15
Mike Friede	0	0	---	---	12	12
Brian Brennan	10	2	---	---	---	12
Martin Bayless	---	---	3	6	1	10
Norm Johnson	0	0	---	---	9	9
Ken Lacy	0	0	---	---	8	8
Gregg Garrity	7	0	---	---	---	7
Brian Hansen	0	0	---	---	7	7
Eric Hipple	0	0	---	---	---	0
Unknown	0	0	---	---	---	0

Birmingham	RPlyOff	PPlyOff	RPlyDef	PPlyDef	STPly	Total Plays
Ron Baker	30	48	---	---	5	83
Jim Sexton	30	48	---	---	1	79
Carlton Malone	30	48	---	---	---	78
Steve August	30	48	---	---	---	78
Billy Ard	26	43	---	---	8	77
John Tice	27	35	---	---	15	77
Tony Eason	30	45	---	---	---	75
Ron Davenport	24	28	---	---	16	68
Carlton Williamson	---	---	34	11	20	65
Irving Fryar	24	39	---	---	---	63
Earl Campbell	21	38	---	---	---	59
Harper LeBel	17	20	---	---	16	53
Sam Merriman	---	---	34	10	3	47
Bob Brudzinski	---	---	30	10	6	46
Gerald Carter	10	24	---	---	10	44
Jerry Robinson	---	---	31	9	3	43
David Martin	---	---	28	10	3	41
Mike Burns	---	---	29	8	3	40
Charley Young	10	21	---	---	8	39
Jermaine Perkins	---	---	28	8	3	39
Mike Hunt	---	---	23	7	9	39
Doug Donley	14	25	---	---	---	39
Russell Gary	---	---	22	7	10	39
Tommy Marvaso	---	---	15	6	17	38
Jerry Holmes	---	---	28	5	4	37
Fletcher Jenkins	---	---	22	8	4	34
Reggie Mathis	---	---	16	6	7	29
Steve Haworth	---	---	21	5	1	27
Mark Studaway	---	---	16	5	5	26
Terry Metcalf	3	7	---	---	14	24
Robert Weathers	0	0	---	---	22	22
Eric Moran	4	5	---	---	8	17
Tommie Towns	0	3	---	---	11	14
Pat Ogrin	---	---	7	2	4	13
Jack Del Rio	---	---	9	2	1	12
Jim Arnold	0	0	---	---	9	9
Jamari Dorsey	0	0	---	---	9	9
Dick Green	0	0	---	---	9	9
Ali Haji-Sheikh	0	0	---	---	6	6
Daryl Wilkerson	---	---	0	0	4	4
Niko Noga	---	---	2	1	---	3
Zechariah Barber III	0	3	---	---	---	3
Bubba Green	---	---	1	1	---	2
Jesse Penn	---	---	0	0	1	1
Frank Warren	---	---	0	0	---	0
Charles Buchanan	0	0	---	---	---	0

Directional Rushing Statistics

Distance	Att	Yards	Avg
Left	14	122	8.7
Middle	6	13	2.2
Right	16	66	4.1
None	0	0	0.0

Distance	Att	Yards	Avg
Left	6	19	3.2
Middle	22	69	3.1
Right	2	1	0.5
None	0	0	0.0

Detailed Passing Statistics

Houston	Att	Cmp	20+	BdTh	Drop	Dfns	Hurr	Knck	Intc
Doug Williams	9	4	2	0	1	1	1	0	1

Birmingham	Att	Cmp	20+	BdTh	Drop	Dfns	Hurr	Knck	Intc
Tony Eason	41	24	3	2	3	4	7	3	0
Zechariah Barber III	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0

Directional Passing Statistics

Distance	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg
Screen	0	0	0	0.0
Short (0-8 Yds)	0	0	0	0.0
Medium (9-18 Yds)	2	2	25	12.5
Long (19+ Yds)	7	2	90	12.9

Distance	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg
Screen	11	7	60	5.5
Short (0-8 Yds)	12	9	61	5.1
Medium (9-18 Yds)	17	10	124	7.3
Long (19+ Yds)	4	0	0	0.0

Detailed Receiving Statistics

Houston	Targt	Caugt	Dropd	Yards	20+	PPlay
WR Louis Lipps	4	2	0	54	1	10
WR Henry Ellard	3	1	0	15	0	10
TE Pat Beach	2	1	1	46	1	6

Birmingham	Targt	Caugt	Dropd	Yards	20+	PPlay
WR Irving Fryar	9	5	2	45	1	39
RB Earl Campbell	8	6	0	37	0	38
WR Gerald Carter	8	2	1	38	1	24
WR Doug Donley	7	6	0	33	0	25
WR Charley Young	3	3	0	33	0	21
FB Ron Davenport	3	1	0	7	0	28
C Harper LeBel	3	1	0	10	0	20
TE John Tice	2	1	0	6	0	35
WR Terry Metcalf	1	1	0	36	1	7

Red-Zone Rushing Statistics

Houston	Att	Yards	Avg	Overall Avg
Gerald Riggs	1	4	4.00	2.50

Birmingham	Att	Yards	Avg	Overall Avg
Ron Davenport	3	-2	-0.67	0.86

Red-Zone Passing Statistics

Houston	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg/Att	Overall Avg

Birmingham	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg/Att	Overall Avg
Tony Eason	10	5	20	2.00	5.49

Red-Zone Receiving Statistics

Houston	Target	Catch	Yards	Avg/Targ	Overall Avg

Birmingham	Target	Catch	Yards	Avg/Targ	Overall Avg
RB Earl Campbell	2	0	0	0.00	4.63
WR Irving Fryar	2	2	-2	-1.00	5.00
C Harper LeBel	2	1	10	5.00	3.33
WR Charley Young	1	1	12	12.00	11.00
WR Gerald Carter	1	0	0	0.00	4.75
WR Doug Donley	1	1	0	0.00	4.71
FB Ron Davenport	1	0	0	0.00	2.33

Third Down Rushing Statistics

Houston	Rushes	Conversions
Herschel Walker	8	3
Gerald Riggs	3	1

Birmingham	Rushes	Conversions
Earl Campbell	3	3
Tony Eason	2	0

Third Down Passing Statistics

Houston	Att	Comp	Conversions
Doug Williams	1	1	1

Birmingham	Att	Comp	Conversions
Tony Eason	12	6	3

Third Down Receiving Statistics

Houston	Targ	Catch	Conversions
WR Henry Ellard	1	1	1

Birmingham	Targ	Catch	Conversions
RB Earl Campbell	4	2	0
WR Irving Fryar	3	2	2
WR Gerald Carter	2	0	0
WR Charley Young	1	1	1
WR Doug Donley	1	1	0
C Harper LeBel	1	0	0

Section Attendance
Stadium 59,100 (70,000 capacity)
Upper Deck 18,100 (21,400)
End Zone 13,000 (15,400)
Mezzanine 7,500 (8,900)
Sideline Seats 11,500 (13,600)
Club Seats 5,900 (7,400)
Luxury Boxes 3,100 (3,300)

Section	Attendance
Stadium	59,100 (70,000 capacity)
Upper Deck	18,100 (21,400)
End Zone	13,000 (15,400)
Mezzanine	7,500 (8,900)
Sideline Seats	11,500 (13,600)
Club Seats	5,900 (7,400)
Luxury Boxes	3,100 (3,300)