http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=list/bestnflopeners 3. America's team? Not anymore, sucker (September 8, 2002) What a sweet victory. The 'Boys had been trash-talking and dissing their new Texas counterparts, and had to eat their words. Rookie QB David Carr led the Texans to an early 10-0 lead over the Cowboys, then tossed a 65-yard TD pass to Corey Bradford in the fourth quarter to put the Texans up for good. Ahead 17-10, the Texans decided to rub it in, as Seth Payne sacked Cowboys QB Quincy Carter in the end zone for a safety with less than three minutes remaining. The Reliant stadium crowd of 69,604, which had been extraordinarily loud throughout the nationally-televised matchup on ESPN, went nuts. The Texans became only the second team in NFL history to win its opener.
the picture of Gary Walker pointing his finger and scowling at Jerry Jones on the field after the game is so classic. seriously, what an amazing way to open a franchise. the first play...a bomb to bradford. capped by a quick TD to Miller. un-freaking-real. i lost my voice immediately. i was there at both rockets championships. i've been to UT-OU games through the years. i've been to early rounds of the NCAA tourney. i went to oilers playoff games and meaningful regular season games. but nothing matched the intensity of being at Reliant to see the texans beat the cowboys.
