How ‘bout that for a Houston Texans Monday Night Football debut? In their first Monday game ever as a franchise, the Texans steam rolled the Jaguars 30-17 and climbed into sole possession of third place in the AFC South.

RB Steve Slaton and WR Andre Johnson were once again the stars of the evening for Houston, along with its solid defensive play and disciplined coaching. While the chances of Houston making the postseason are slim to none even with the win, the team has much to build on and can improve with four games down the stretch.

Jacksonville’s train wreck only continues to plunge deeper into the abyss. As a playoff team last year, the Jaguars were supposed to contend for the division crown. Now, Jacksonville has all but locked up last place in the AFC South, and even 2009 doesn’t look so friendly for a team with no chemistry and little hope.

From way down in Houston, it’s the new eighth wonder of the world………

The U’s Primetime Players:

Quarterbacks:

Sage Rosenfels, Texans
He was no Matt Schaub, but Rosenfels did enough for the Texans to steam roll Jacksonville. Rosenfels was 14-for-24 and passed for an even 200 yards, matching his only interception with a first quarter touchdown from 31 yards out. This will likely be the last start of the season for Rosenfels, as Schaub is likely to return as Houston’s starter next week in Green Bay. Even so, he’s gotta be happy with his sendoff performance on Monday night. MNF Grade: B

David Garrard, Jaguars
This clearly hasn’t been the same quarterback from last year. Garrard threw only three interceptions in 2007 and already has nine through 12 games in 2008. Against a subpar Houston defense, Garrard did little to prove critics wrong about this down year, and only got the offense going when the game was out of reach. His 25-for-35 numbers look good, along with 287 yards passing, but his only touchdown came late and he accounted for two turnovers. Garrard, if he hasn’t been already, needs to be dropped as a fantasy starter immediately. MNF Grade: C +

Running backs:

Steve Slaton, Texans
Slaton was brilliant running the ball for Houston, especially in the fourth quarter. While both offenses were slow in the first half, Slaton basically iced the game with huge touchdown runs of seven and 40 yards. On his 21 carries, the speedy back earned 130 yards, including 83 of them in the fourth quarter alone. MNF Grade: A -

Maurice Jones-Drew/Fred Taylor, Jaguars
Another 100-plus yard performance from the two-back combination, yet the offense has to be dispirited after the loss. Taylor reeled off 67 yards on only 9 carries with a four-yard touchdown; Jones-Drew rushed the ball 12 times for 49 yards. The two backs posted modest rushing stats, and even contributed to Jacksonville’s lackluster passing game: Taylor had a catch for six yards, and Jones-Drew caught three for 22 yards. Although Taylor is being phased out slowly in Jacksonville, it was nice to see him become the franchise’s all-time touchdown leader with 70. MNF Grade: B -

Wide receivers:

Andre Johnson, Texans
Johnson was out and away the Texans best weapon aside from Slaton, proving that he is one of the most dominant receivers in the league. He collected seven receptions for 75 yards and that 31-yard TD from Rosenfels gave him a fantastic night. He’s not T.O., Randy Moss, or Chad Johnson; Andre Johnson is proving that he is his own receiver and stands alone as a dynamic threat every game. Already a No. 1 receiver option for fantasy owners, just imagine what this guy will do when Matt Schaub returns to the lineup next week. Although they won’t make the playoffs, the sky is the limit for Johnson this season. MNF Grade: A

Matt Jones, Jaguars
He was Jacksonville’s best receiver on the field Monday night, but that isn’t saying a lot. Jones posted only his second 100-yard receiving game in 2008, hauling in eight catches for 104 yards. He didn’t cross the endzone, but Jones accounted for one-third of Garrard’s completions and established himself as the best target in a Jags uniform. His eight catches on Monday night matched a career-best for a single game. MNF Grade: B +

Tight Ends:

Owen Daniels, Texans
Daniels caught two passes for 25 yards, and while he didn’t find the end zone in this one, continued an underrated fantasy season. Daniels ranks fourth among tight ends with 50 receptions and 608 yards, and he has scored two touchdowns, even with a backup quarterback for a good part of the season. MNF Grade: C +

Marcedes Lewis, Jaguars
Jacksonville’s tight end needs to do a better job of establishing himself in the often sluggish offense. Without a dominant receiver, Lewis should be getting more looks and playing a bigger part on the team to develop offensive chemistry. Two catches for 37 yards and no scores is decent for some tight ends, but not great on a team that is desperate for vertical weapons. MNF Grade: C

Defense/Special Teams:

Houston
Mario Williams continues to show why he was the No. 1 overall draft pick just a few seasons ago. “Super Mario” made 6 tackles, earned three of the team’s three and a half sacks and forced a fumble in the fourth quarter. The rest of the defense, although giving up almost 400 yards, collected two more turnovers and didn’t let Jacksonville get comfortable on offense until the game was well out of hand. The Texans are a sleeper defense. MNF Grade: B +

Jacksonville
The Jaguars’ top-notch defense of a year ago is officially gone this entire 2008 season. Steve Slaton scored on not one, but two plays where he went completely untouched into the end zone. That’s 14 uncontested points, and no team can come back from holes the defense gives up like that. Jacksonville managed a first-quarter interception, yet otherwise made Sage Rosenfels look good on primetime; NO sacks really hurt this group’s psyche. MNF Grade: C

Kickers:

Kris Brown, Texans
A perfect night for Houston’s kicker, minus the botched field goal that wasted a Texans possession in the second quarter. Still, it wasn’t Brown’s fault, so no penalty in his grade; he didn’t even throw the wobbly incomplete pass on the failed three-point attempt. Other than that, a perfect night for Brown: three field goals (38, 50, 20) and three extra points. MNF Grade: A

Josh Scobee, Jaguars
Scobee made both extra point attempts, yet missed one of his field goal tries from 43 yards wide right. His other field goal was successful from 29 yards, and accounted for the first points of the night for the Jaguars in the third quarter. MNF Grade: B -

Join us next Monday night for a huge playoff implication battle when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-3) face the Carolina Panthers (9-3) for first place in the NFC South.