Brian Cushing was one of many Houston Texan veterans to make his preseason debut in Saturday night’s 18-17 win over the Denver Broncos. Cushing, who hadn’t played in an actual game in over ten months, helped the first team defense hold Peyton Manning and the high-octane Denver offense to only three points in their first four drives in Mile High.

“Any time you play against Peyton you’ve got to stay on your toes, and we were,” Cushing said after the game. “I was just more excited to be out there than anything else.”

The Texans and their fans were also excited to see the former Pro Bowler back on the field, but cautious optimism remains the order of the day in Houston given Cushing’s numerous absences these past few seasons. The 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year has missed a total of 12 games since 2012 after back-to-back season-ending knee injuries: a torn ACL in 2012 followed by a broken fibula and torn LCL last season. While fans may be skeptical as to his health, Cushing certainly doesn’t appear to be.

“I don’t think there’s really any obstacles right now,” Cushing claims. “I’m just trying to be the best I can for September 7th: continue to grind and get my plays down. I’ve got some game-time experience now, I’ll go back, watch the film and improve upon that, improve upon ourselves as a team, and continue to get better.”

“Getting better” will be much easier for Bill O’Brien’s Texans when they finally have their full complement of players out on the field rather than standing on the sidelines in street clothes. While Arian Foster continued to “be the best teammate he can be” by missing his seventh consecutive preseason game, the Texans welcomed back All-Pro wideout Andre Johnson and starting guard Brandon Brooks.

Johnson, who caught three balls for 18 yards and looked sharp in limited playing time, was happy to once again be part of a full-contact affair. “I just wanted to get tackled. That was the biggest thing,” Johnson told the media. “Just catching a pass and getting tackled…once I experienced that I was fine.”

Houston’s defense held Manning and company in check until the 1:41 mark in the first half, when #18 torched the Texans as he did with regularity as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. With most of the Texans starting defense on the bench, Manning wasted no time as he hit Emmanuel Sanders for a 67-yard touchdown on the second play of the drive to give the Broncos a 10-7 lead. After a three and out by the Texans, Denver got the ball back with 32 seconds left in the half: just enough time for Texans’ resident “Swagg-master” D.J. Swearinger to make his presence felt for all the wrong reasons.

First, Swearinger was flagged for a personal foul (a recurring problem for the second-year safety) after he concussed Wes Welker with a shoulder to the head. Swearinger began jawing away at anyone who would listen (another recurring problem), including Manning. On the next play, Manning hit Emmanuel Sanders for his second touchdown in just over a minute to stretch the lead to 17-7. While NFL fans may be accustomed to Manning’s quick-strike capabilities, he showed them something they’d never seen after his second TD toss, as he was assessed the first personal foul penalty of his 16-year career for taunting Swearinger after the play.

“Peyton was mad,” Swearinger said. “He gave me some choice words on that play, and then came and said something to me afterwards. Some choice words, but you know, I’ll leave it at that.” As for Swearinger’s response? “He said, ‘Thanks, appreciate it. Good luck to you as well,'” Manning quipped after the game.

As far as the game was concerned, the Texans would have the last laugh as rookie quarterback Tom Savage led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, capped by a two-point conversion that gave Houston an 18-17 road victory. Perhaps more importantly for the Texans, familiar faces like Brian Cushing and Andre Johnson are back on the field where they belong.

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