The Washington Redskins could have come away as the No. 1 storyline from Week 1 of the NFL season. Arian Foster dashed that notion.
Foster opened eyes from coast to coast, rushing for 231 yards and three touchdowns as the Houston Texas steamrolled the Indianapolis Colts, 34-24, last weekend.
It took an effort of that magnitude to steal the spotlight from the Redskins, who shared one thing in common with the Texans last week: They each took down a bitter division rival and top Super Bowl contender.
Both teams get a chance to prove the season openers were not an aberration when the Texans visit the Redskins on Sunday afternoon.
Washington will be looking to prevent another monster effort by Foster after containing Dallas’ three-headed monster of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice in a 13-7 victory over the Cowboys.
Foster churned out the second-highest opening-week total in history - behind only O.J. Simpson's 250 yards in 1973 – and also became the first player in league history to rush for at least 200 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1.
The 6-1, 227-pounder carried 33 times overall and ran for 191 yards in the second half to wear down the arch-nemesis Colts, who had won 15 of the 16 previous meetings between the clubs.
So dominant was Foster that Texans quarterback Matt Schaub attempted just 17 passes, completing nine for 107 yards. Mind you, this was the same quarterback who had nine 300-yard games and threw for an NFL-high 4,770 yards in 2009.
The Redskins were not nearly as efficient on offense, instead relying on their defense to gut out a 13-7 victory over bitter rival and NFC East favorite Dallas. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall scored the only touchdown for Washington, returning a fumble on the final play of the first half.
Playing their first game with Mike Shanahan as coach and Donovan McNabb at quarterback, the Redskins had to survive a dramatic finish in which a last-second Cowboys' touchdown was negated by a holding penalty.
While it was hardly an aesthetically pleasing effort, style points hardly mattered for a team that stumbled to a 4-12 record and went winless in the division a year ago.
McNabb’s debut in a Redskins uniform was hardly memorable. Bothered by an ankle that he injured in the preseason, he completed just 15-of-32 passes for 171 yards, putting just six points on the scoreboard.
Tight end Chris Cooley, who missed the second half of last season with a broken ankle, was McNabb’s favorite target with six receptions for 80 yards. Running back Clinton Portis, who also missed the second half of last season after suffering a concussion, rushed for 63 yards on 18 carries.
Washington is 2-0 against the Texans, but the teams haven’t played since the 2006 season.