Matt Schaub eliminated the drama.

On Sunday Schaub threw four touchdown passes tying his career high as the Houston Texans, who have had problems at the end of their games, pulled away in this one without giving the Bengals a shot to coast to a 28-17 win over Cincinnati.

Everyone knew if the final outcome were to come down to the last minutes that the Texas (3-3) would have been at a disadvantage.

Schaub said, all their games went all the way to the wire. They deserve the credit because of the fact that they found a way to win the games. We had to put away the game.

Cincinnati (4-2) never got the chance to work their last minute magic.

The Bengals, prior to the game on Sunday, had won three games in a row during the last 22 seconds of the game by pulling off unlikely finishes after their opponents didn’t finish them off. There was one chance for escape for the Bengals on Sunday when Steve Slaton fumbled as the Texans were within range of a field goal with 6:12 minutes left to play.

But there wasn’t any drama this time. Two plays later Cincinnati fumbled right back, a sure sign that their luck was running out.

Chad Ochocinco, Bengals receiver said, that was our fault. We have been saying all along that we can not keep winning games with how we have been playing. We need to be consistent for four quarters.

Schaub didn’t rally give them a chance. He was able to pick the defense apart that lost their starting tackle and best pass rusher during the first quarter. Schaub completed 28 out of 40 passes for a total of 392 yards, the second highest in his career. Schaub last week in the Arizona game set his career highs. He completed 35 passes out of 50 attempts.

Gary Kubiak, Texans coach said, Matt had continued to put great numbers up while on the road.

Carson Palmer ran a predictable Bengals offense. Other than the final two minutes not too much got done. During the last 48 seconds of the game before half time, Cincinnati scored 10 points, giving the Bengals a 17-14 lead. In this game the offense didn’t go anywhere during the second half.

During the second half of their last games the Texans defense has shut their opponents out. They clinched this game when Brian Cushing picked off a pass from Palmer with 1:49 left in the game. Palmer, who played the game wearing a glove over his left hand (non-passing) to help support his sprained thumb, completed 23 out of 35 passes for a total of 259 yards.

Frank Bush, Houston’s defensive coordinator, challenged his troops to stop the then leading rusher in the NFL, Cedric Benson. The Texans limited Benson to only 44 yards rushing on 16 carries, which was his worst game of the season by far.

During the third quarter Houston only allowed six yards in nine plays, the finest third quarter performance in the Texans franchise history.

Dunta Robinson, Texans cornerback said, we were swarm tackling. We all had our job to do. We made them a one dimensional team. Our defense played well.

Cincinnati suffered a big loss when Antwan Odom, defensive end, who is the NFL co-leader in sacks, injured his Achilles tendon. Marvin Lewis, Bengals coach said, it was probably severe. There will be tests performed to determine how extensive the injury is.

On The Texans’ first possession, Odom charged the line, blocking a Kris Brown field goal attempt from 28 yards. Later during the first quarter Odom injured his right Achilles during a Schaub touchdown pass of 12 yards to Owen Daniels. Odom was taken off in a cart. The injury cost Cincinnati their leading pass rusher.

Also during the first quarter Domata Peko, Bengals defensive tackle, injured his knee. Houston was playing without their starting guards, who have both been lost for the season due to injuries.

Before the game, a moment of silence was held for Vikki Zimmer, the late wife of Mike Zimmer, defensive coordinator. On October 8 she died of natural causes unexpectedly. During the third quarter Connor Barwin, the former star from the University of Cincinnati, got the first sack of his career against Palmer. There were approximately 70 relatives and friends in the stands. The career high for Schaub is 414 yards which he got last December 7 versus Green Bay. Andrew Johnson had eight catches for a total of 135 yards, while Slaton caught six for a total of 102 yards, including one of 38 yards for a touchdown. Ochocinco had five catches for a total of 103 yards. It was his first receiving day for 100 yards since the last game in 2007. Cincinnati has scored 54 out of their total 118 points during the last two minutes of both halves as well as overtime.