HOUSTON -- Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler did exactly what he needed to do in the third preseason game.
During the Texans' 34-24 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Osweiler showed off his accuracy and command of the offense in his best game of the preseason. Osweiler finished 11-for-13 for 146 yards and a touchdown, and he could have had another score had rookie receiver Will Fuller not dropped a long pass in the second quarter.
"This offense came out here today, this entire team came out here today, and we got better," Osweiler said. "I think if you look at all three of our preseason games thus far, we're constantly improving, we're fixing mistakes and we're getting better each week. That's really what you want to see at this point in time."
Osweiler's good day came despite a nonexistent running game while he was on the field. In the first half, the Texans had seven carries for just 19 yards.
QB depth chart: The depth chart at quarterback is pretty much set, with Osweiler as the starter and Tom Savage as his backup. At the end of the first half, Savage connected with second-year receiver Jaelen Strong on the right side of the end zone for a touchdown. Savage finished 4-for-11 for 75 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Weeden, who is the third-string quarterback, entered the game midway through the fourth quarter and threw an interception on his first and only pass of the game.
Maybe that dude could start: Fuller showed off his speed again, particularly on a first-quarter catch for 35 yards. Osweiler put the ball exactly where only Fuller could get to it, and the wideout made a nice catch. Fuller also caught his second touchdown on the preseason, a 26-yard pass from Osweiler in the right corner of the end zone. Fuller did have a drop on a ball thrown well by Osweiler that could have been a touchdown. He finished with three catches for 67 yards and a touchdown, on four targets. Osweiler said the team expects "big things out of [Fuller] this season.”
Who got hurt? There were no new Texans injuries announced during the game.
A surprise player who impressed: Linebacker John Simon scored his second defensive touchdown of the preseason on Sunday. During the second quarter, Simon tipped Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer's pass to himself, making a one-handed catch for the interception. He ran the ball 59 yards to the end zone for the touchdown. Simon also scored on a fumble recovery in the Texans' preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
When it was starters vs. starters, the Texans looked ... : like their offense has started to click. Osweiler spread out his targets to six receivers, and the offense rolled with 31 first-half points. Though the defense gave up 236 yards in the first half, the damage was limited, thanks to the two takeaways.
One reason to be concerned: For the second week in a row, the offensive line is an area of concern. Due to injuries, the line is missing three starters -- rookie center Nick Martin and tackles Duane Brown and Derek Newton -- and it showed. Osweiler was sacked twice in four series, and Savage was also sacked once.
Kicking competition: It appears veteran Nick Novak has beat out Ka'imi Fairbairn for the kicking job. Fairbairn, an undrafted rookie out of UCLA, is dealing with a quadriceps injury and has not played in the past two games. Novak hit three field goals last week against the New Orleans Saints and two in Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
A good day from Tyler Ervin: The rookie running back had his best game as a professional so far, with a 58-yard kickoff return, 20-yard catch and 11-yard run. Ervin had struggled a bit in the first two preseason games but showed on Sunday why he was a fourth-round pick.