Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had himself a fine debut with the Houston Texans, catching all three of his targets for 61 yards in a 19-17 win over his former team, the Denver Broncos.
Thomas was dealt before last Tuesday's trade deadline in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick and a swap of seventh-rounders.
After the reunion game, he was critical of Denver's play-calling leading up to the missed 51-yard field goal by kicker Brandon McManus.
"That's what they do over there," Thomas said, according to NFL.com's Michael Silver. "I ain't a part of that no more. We like to win over here."
Quarterback Case Keenum got the Broncos near field-goal range with an 18-yard completion to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders on a fourth-and-8 play with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Keenum then connected with tight end Jeff Heuerman for five yards to the Texans' 32-yard line. The next play was a loss of one on a handoff to running back Phillip Lindsay, which set up the long field-goal try.
The loss dropped the Broncos to 3-6, while the Texans improved to 6-3 with a sixth consecutive victory, strengthening their hold on the AFC South lead.
