Texans top Jaguars

In battle of 4-7 teams, Houston dominates its MNF debut

Mario Williams, Steve Slaton and the Houston Texans put on quite a show in their Monday Night Football debut.

Williams had a season-high three sacks and forced a fumble and Slaton ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Texans to a 30-17 win over the slumping Jacksonville Jaguars.

Andre Johnson added a TD reception and Kris Brown kicked three field goals in the win, a highlight in Houston's disappointing season so far.

The top pick in the 2006 draft, Williams brought down quarterback David Garrard in the second, third and fourth quarters. He forced a fumble by Garrard on his last sack and Houston recovered on the 7.

Slaton scored on the next play to make it 23-3 with about 5 minutes left.

The Texans were wearing their "Battle Red" uniforms for their first Monday night game. The city of Houston was hosting a Monday night game for the first time since Nov. 21, 1994, when the New York Giants beat the Oilers 13-10 at the Astrodome.

Slaton's 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth started a wild run of scoring in what had been a low-scoring game.

Taylor scored a for Jacksonville on a 4-yard run, but the Jaguars gave the points right back on the first play after their unsuccessful on-side kick.

Slaton ran 40 yards to make the score 30-10 just prior to the 2-minute warning.

Garrard then connected with Reggie Williams for an 18-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left.

But Jacksonville failed for a third time to recover an on-side kick, and Houston ran out the clock.

Sage Rosenfels threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Johnson in the first quarter to start the scorring.

The Texans led 10-0 at halftime and Brown added a season-long 50-yard field goal with 10:12 left in the third quarter. The score followed Jacoby Jones' 28-yard punt return to the Jaguars' 38.

Williams sacked Jacksonville's David Garrard for the second time midway through the third, picking up his 10th of the season.

Fred Taylor broke a 24-yard run later in that drive, however, setting up Josh Scobee's 29-yard field goal with 3:29 remaining in the third.

The Jaguars tried an onside kick, but Chaun Thompson recovered for the Texans at the Jacksonville 42. Slaton took a screen pass and ran to the Jaguars' 2, but the Texans settled for another field goal from Brown, a 20-yarder.

Williams picked up his first sack in the second quarter, and Houston's 18th-ranked defense held Jacksonville to 113 yards and five first downs in the first half.

Rosenfels made his fourth consecutive start in place of Matt Schaub, who's been out with a left knee injury but was active for the game.

Johnson, third in the NFL in receiving yards, has caught a pass in 46 consecutive games.

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VIKINGS 34, BEARS 14: With a gutty goal-line stand and one big heave by Gus Frerotte, Minnesota grabbed control of the NFC North and sent Kyle Orton and Chicago home with a humbling defeat.

Seconds after the Bears were stopped four times at the 1, Bernard Berrian pulled in a 99-yard touchdown pass from Frerotte that sent the Vikings to their most lopsided victory of the season and sole possession of the division.

Orton's team-record streak of 206 attempts without an interception ended with a thud. He threw three of them, and Minnesota (7-5) turned them into 17 second-half points. Orton finished 11-for-29 for 153 yards and two touchdowns.