NFL Capsules - Playoffs: Three rookies shine for Houston

It wasn't that Winston lacked confidence in the choices coach Gary Kubiak and general manager Rick Smith made in the draft. Winston just hadn't seen many first-year players mature quickly enough to make dramatic impacts.

J.J. Watt, Brooks Reed and T.J. Yates turned out to be exceptions.

The three have played pivotal roles in helping the Texans (11-6) survive a myriad of injuries to reach the postseason and advance to the second round. Houston plays at Baltimore (12-4) on Sunday for a berth in the AFC championship game.

"Any time you have this many injuries and you have contributions not from vets, but from rookies stepping up and making big plays in big games," Winston said, "that's why a team goes as far as it does."

Watt, who's started all 17 games at defensive end, leads the Texans in tackles for loss and made the defensive play of the season, returning an unlikely interception for a touchdown in last week's 31-10 win over Cincinnati.

Yates kept Houston afloat after season-ending injuries to quarterbacks Matt Schaub (right foot, Lisfranc) and Matt Leinart (broken left collarbone).

Reed ably moved into a starting role at outside linebacker and made sure the defense didn't miss a beat when star Mario Williams went down.

"You never know how a season's going to go," Winston said. "You never know if you're going to be blessed from an injury standpoint, or you're going to have to have guys that have got to go (play).

"We've definitely had one of those years that we've had guys who've had to go."

The 6-foot-5, 288-pound Watt was pegged as a starter from the moment Houston took him with the 11th overall pick. Texans fans were initially turned off by the selection, with more recognizable names still on the board, and Watt took notice.

"I remember a lot of people in Houston's reaction on draft day and obviously, I don't have any problem with it," he said. "It was warranted at the time. But it was always my goal from Day 1 to prove to them that I was the football player that the city of Houston would hopefully come to love and I'll always continue to work to make the city proud."

And Watt proved to be NFL-ready, manhandling linemen and swatting away passes from early on in August workouts. He recovered a fumble in the opener, got his first sack in the third game and won over fans with his relentless energy.

Then came Saturday's playoff game. Watt timed his jump just like he's done in practice all season, snatched Andy Dalton's pass with both hands and sprinted 29 yards for a score that put the Texans ahead to stay.

"You want your top picks to be a good player, but they usually don't develop that quickly," defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said.

The 6-3, 250-pound Reed was a second-round pick out of Arizona. He moved into the starting role after Williams tore a chest muscle in Week 5. He played defensive end in college, and has made a seamless adjustment to outside linebacker, with six sacks, three pass deflections and two fumble recoveries this season.

"You know, you lose Mario Williams, you've got to step in there for Mario Williams," Kubiak said, "so how's he going to react to that? We knew he'd be a good player, but I think the job he did as quickly as he's done has been exceptional."

Yates, a fifth-round pick, was also thrown into the starting role earlier than expected. The Texans liked him because he played a similar offensive scheme at North Carolina.

He became an instant hero in Houston after winning his first two starts, then struggled in his next two, both losses. He had modest numbers against Cincinnati — 11 for 20 for 159 yards — but saved his best throw for when it mattered most, dropping a perfect 40-yarder into the arms of Andre Johnson for a touchdown in the second half.

As with Watt and Reed, Yates' maturity and performance have won over his teammates.

''As a rookie quarterback, for not being dressed in the beginning of the season, holding the clipboard, and then being thrown in the fire, I'm extremely impressed," Winston said. "I'm in the league for nine years, and you see some guys just get the jitters, and not just the quarterback, but every position. Having the jitters is a good thing, but he does a great job of staying relaxed and poised, and that's what you need at a quarterback position."

Tebow sends Patriots back to the drawing board

But coming off his worst game as a pro, the most maligned quarterback in football morphed into a conventional quarterback Sunday in snapping out of a three-game funk and sending the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers to an early playoff exit.

Tebow, whose record-setting redemption kept Denver's thrilling roller coaster of a season roaring right along, is more challenging than ever to defend. So, the top-seeded New England Patriots are preparing for deep passes as much as the Broncos' bothersome read-option offense.

"They're a tough team to prepare for because they do a lot of different things," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "There aren't really any other teams like them in the league, so there's no other team you can really draw that experience from. What they do offensively is a little bit unique."

After relying all season on the league's best ground game, Tebow turned into an Aaron Rodgers-Drew Brees-Tom Brady lookalike by throwing for 316 yards against the league's No. 1 defense in his first playoff appearance.

It wasn't just his 80-yard bullet to Demaryius Thomas, which allowed the Broncos to beat the Steelers 29-23 on the first play of overtime. In the second quarter, Tebow completed four passes of 30 yards or better, something that hadn't been done in the NFL in half a century.

Belichick insists this isn't Tebow 2.0, however.

"I think he's done a lot of those things all year," Belichick said. "He had a great game against Pittsburgh, no doubt about it. But he's played well throughout the season, whether it be managing the team, making decisions, running the ball, throwing the ball, scrambling, any and all of the above. He's a good football player."

One who's now multidimensional.

At John Elway's urging, Tebow was more aggressive Sunday, heeding his boss's advice to "pull the trigger."

"Yeah, I think I did play pretty aggressive in the game," Tebow said Tuesday after the Broncos returned to work following their exhilarating weekend win. "We were playing a very good team, very good defense. And you have to be willing to take some chances to make some big plays against them, because they have so many good players and so many good guys that are rushing, getting to the quarterback. And the offensive line did a great job and the receivers stepped up and made huge plays."

The Broncos (9-8) need an encore performance to beat the heavily favored and well-rested Patriots (13-3).

Tebow's 31.6 yards per completion Sunday were the second-most ever for an NFL quarterback in the regular season or playoffs, surpassed only by Joe Namath's 33.7-yard average against Baltimore in September 1972.

"It was big for us because in this league, you have to keep people off balance," wide receiver Eddie Royal said. "Before last week, people knew they had to stop the run. Stop the run and shut down our offense. But now, they have to second-guess themselves, 'Oh, they can throw the ball and be explosive and make some pass plays.'"

It was the Broncos' reliance on the run that sold the play-fake on the first snap of overtime — they had rushed on 23 of 25 first downs up to that point.

"It's always good to see us get the big passes, especially because everyone says we can't throw the ball," said tailback Willis McGahee, who had implored the Broncos to improve their passing attack to enhance an already stout ground game.

The Broncos' formula during their eight wins under Tebow had been to play stout defense and spectacular on special teams to keep the grind-it-out offense within striking distance until Tebow could pull off his last-minute magic.

Now, they're mixing in explosive plays.

And Tebow doesn't have to be pinpoint with his passes if the safeties come up and cornerbacks cover the receivers 1-on-1 because his reads will be simpler. He'll have more margin for error if players such as Thomas, who has great hands, have more room to maneuver and fewer defensive backs to get in his way.

"We were just waiting for him to come out and play the way we knew he could and show everybody," Royal said.

Eric Decker, who sprained his left knee on the first play of the second quarter last week, isn't expected to play against the Patriots.

Although he was the Broncos' best receiver in the regular season, with 44 catches for 612 yards and eight touchdowns, half his scores came with Kyle Orton at quarterback. Tebow's top target was actually Thomas, who caught every one of his 32 receptions for 551 yards and four TDs from the lefty.

Over the last two months, Thomas has been one of the most dominating players in the league despite playing in a conservative offense that doesn't allow receivers to strut their stuff too much.

On Sunday, he amassed 204 yards on just four receptions.

"I remember watching him at Georgia Tech and seeing this guy," Royal said. "He didn't get many opportunities there. But when he got them, he made big plays and that's the type of player that he is. I can't imagine what he would do with 20 targets a game. The sky's the limit for this kid. I just hope he continues to get better and I know he will."

In an interesting twist, former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, who took a chance by drafting both Thomas and Tebow in the first round two years ago, has rejoined the Patriots' staff in time to help them try to end Denver's season.

"You know, he's a very good coach and I wish him nothing but the best, and I'm very thankful for him having the confidence in drafting me," Tebow said. "But I'm very excited about the coaches that we have here."

Notes: With Decker down, the Broncos promoted wide receiver D'Andre Goodwin from their practice squad Tuesday and placed fullback Spencer Larsen (knee) on IR. ... Besides Decker, DE Elvis Dumervil (right ankle), TE Daniel Fells (unspecified injury), and safeties Brian Dawkins (neck) and David Bruton (Achilles) were held out of practice. ... Denver's coordinators Mike McCoy and Dennis Allen can interview for head coaching jobs with the Jaguars and Rams, respectively, starting Thursday afternoon.

-- Arnie Stapleton

McDaniels' return to Patriots sparks intrigue

His new boss, same as the old boss, grinned right back while bundled in a blue parka and knit cap with a pom-pom on top.

Were the reunited duo just happy to be working together again on Tuesday, a combo that had New England just one minute away from an unbeaten season four years ago?

Or were they chuckling over having pulled off a fast one — allowed though it is by the NFL — that could help the Patriots in Saturday night's divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos and beyond?

McDaniels did coach the Broncos in all of 2009 and the first 12 games of 2010 before being fired with a 3-9 record.

And as offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams this season, he coached against all four NFC teams left in the playoffs, as well as the second-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the AFC.

Now, after the Rams released him from the final year of his contract as coordinator of an anemic offense, McDaniels is an offensive assistant on a team that could be headed for the Super Bowl, the same team he served as offensive coordinator from 2006-08.

One day after saying McDaniels has "some inside information" on the Broncos because he coached them, quarterback Tom Brady was asked about having him back in the meeting room.

"It's the same preparation for me," a subdued Brady said Tuesday. "We have some familiarity with what they do, obviously, playing them four weeks ago."

Brady threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns in that 41-23 win on Dec. 18 in Denver. He saw up close how linemen rush and cornerbacks cover. That's knowledge he can take into Saturday's game, something McDaniels didn't see.

And Brady, not McDaniels, has to make the game plan work.

In 2007, he threw for an NFL record 50 touchdowns and the Patriots were 18-0 before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants 17-14 on a last-minute touchdown. This season, they were 13-3 without McDaniels, while Brady threw for 5,235 yards, second most in NFL history.

In this digital football age of detailed computer and video analyses, one new coach may not add substantially to a team's knowledge of an opponent.

"Occasionally, people are hired off a staff that has been broken up because the head coach has been fired," said Gil Brandt, an NFL consultant and former general manager of the Dallas Cowboys. "But I don't think in today's NFL atmosphere it makes for any advantage. Maybe in the old days it did, but now we have tape and we can pull up any situation we want on any player or team. So the effect is minimal at best, I think."

Besides, McDaniels has been away from Denver for more than a year. John Fox, the current coach, has changed systems and players and doesn't seem worried.

"We're going to go play Carolina next year," said Fox, the Panthers' former coach. "I don't think that's going to be a huge advantage for me."

His players brush off suggestions McDaniels will reveal team secrets.

"I think everything to know about us is on film," wide receiver Eddie Royal said.

"We're just worried about ourselves," added running back Lance Ball. "We're not worried about what (McDaniels) thinks, what he's going to say to them. We're just worried about going in and beating the Patriots."

But a little tip here and there could pay off at a critical moment. After all, he was head coach when the Broncos drafted defensive end Robert Ayers in the first round in 2009 and quarterback Tim Tebow and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in the first round in 2010.

Ayers is grateful to McDaniels for picking him, but is it fair for a coach who didn't make the playoffs with one team to join another for the postseason?

"I'll let you guys answer that one," Ayers told reporters. "I'm pretty sure I'm thinking the same thing you guys are thinking. I'm just not going to say it."

Fair or not, there's no NFL rule prohibiting it.

"Teams can sign, during the season, players, coaches, or other staff that are out of work and have no contractual obligation to another team," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.

Brandt, Cowboys general manager from 1960-88, first worked in the NFL as a part-time scout with the Los Angeles Rams in the late 1950s. In all that time, he can't remember such a case.

There was a similar one when Paul Pasqualoni was fired on Jan. 11, 2010 after two seasons as defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins. Four days later, he was hired to replace Dallas defensive line coach Todd Grantham, who had agreed to go to Georgia as defensive coordinator. And two days after that, the Cowboys lost an NFC divisional game to the Minnesota Vikings 34-3.

The Patriots hired the 35-year-old McDaniels on Sunday after the Rams finished their season at 2-14, leading to the firing of coach Steve Spagnuolo. He'll help offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, who will stay through the playoffs before going to his new job as head coach at Penn State, with McDaniels expected to replace him in New England next season.

They worked together in 2008 in O'Brien's first year with the Patriots as wide receivers coach. They're described as good friends.

"He's ready to help us in any way that he can. I'm sure that he'll be an asset to our coaching staff and our team," Belichick said of McDaniels. "I'm not sure exactly how that will pan out."

Teams sometimes sign players to their rosters or practice squads to get inside information on an opponent it's about to play. Last season, the Patriots signed running back Danny Woodhead on Sept. 18, just 12 days after he was released by the New York Jets and one day before the teams faced each other.

Did it help? The Jets won 28-14.

And Woodhead was no stopgap; he's still with the Patriots.

McDaniels knows many Broncos players very well, but the roster has changed since he left.

"Now, if he had been in Denver this year, that would be a lot different," Brandt said, "if he was involved with the play-calling and the signals and that. But everything has changed there with the new (coaching) staff.

"I don't think there is an advantage one way or the other."

-- Howard Ulman

NFC

Big leap: Jim Harbaugh makes 49ers instant winners

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — From Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier to Dennis Erickson, winning college coaches have long failed to translate their success to the next level.

Jim Harbaugh needed just one year to emphatically break that mold — and he didn't even have to change his unique rah-rah style to transform the San Francisco 49ers (13-3) into a Super Bowl contender this season. They head into Saturday's home playoff game against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints (14-3) as an underdog, just as he likes it.

Harbaugh has become the favorite for Coach of the Year by doing things his way from Day 1.

He gives up his seat in first class in favor of a spot in coach with his players. He sits down in the cafeteria to chat up kicker David Akers, punter Andy Lee and long snapper Brian Jennings — hardly a trio on any team accustomed to much one-on-one time with the head coach.

Harbaugh acknowledges he doesn't need to socialize with others around the league, aside from Baltimore Ravens coach and big brother, John, that is. He doesn't care about making friends in the NFL or being popular among his peers. He once said, "If the 49ers success offends you, so be it."

He took a chance that Alex Smith would thrive playing for the former NFL QB, and brought back the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick for another season — even handing off his playbook to Smith in good faith well before the lockout lifted last summer and Smith signed his $4.9 million deal.

"I like what he told us the other day, to 'keep the powder dry,'" running back Anthony Dixon said Tuesday. "When they used to light the TNT bombs back in the day and they had the powder that led up to them, he just wants us to stay calm, stay ready, stay in it, concentrating and focusing on the details and come Saturday let it explode."

The highly sought after Harbaugh left Stanford days after finishing with a 12-1 record and a commanding Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech last January for a $25 million, five-year deal right down the freeway with the Niners. He was challenged to turn around a franchise that went 6-10 last season and hadn't earned a playoff berth or posted a winning record since 2002.

While warning improvement is a "process," Harbaugh promised an immediate culture change and to build a contender — yet hardly anyone would have envisioned 13-3, the NFC's No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff bye.

"Jim Harbaugh, he instilled an identity to this team," Hall of Fame wide receiver and former 49ers great Jerry Rice said.

Players insist it's rare to have a coach who never calls them out publicly or even in front of teammates, someone who has their backs.

"Those are the head coaches that you like," safety Donte Whitner said. "Like Rex Ryan, he will never throw his players under the bus and he puts all the pressure on himself. Coach Harbaugh does the same thing. A lot of coaches, when they don't want the pressure on them, don't want the hands pointed at them or the media to turn on them, they put things out to the media that really shouldn't be out there, That stuff never works and players really understand that and locker rooms understand that."

Akers had options last offseason, yet the 49ers were high on his list because of Harbaugh and Akers' connections to the coaching family — even if it meant the inconvenience of moving his family cross-country. Akers booted an NFL single-season record 44 field goals and earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods.

"His whole thing at the beginning was building the foundation and we've been able to do that," Akers said. "To be 13-3, you've had great games. We really haven't had the blowouts, so you find a way to win. I would say yes, that blue-collar atmosphere, what that means is you're coming here on a daily basis and these guys are going out and working hard when maybe somebody else isn't."

Harbaugh has done something a handful of others jumping from college to the NFL couldn't.

Saban won a BCS championship at LSU before departing to take over the Dolphins. He went 15-17 in two years in Miami before resigning to take the job at Alabama. Spurrier built Florida into a national powerhouse and won a national title, then went 12-20 in two seasons with the Redskins and resigned.

Erickson has had multiple stints in the college and pro game. He went from Miami to the Seahawks, then Oregon State to the 49ers — going 9-23 during the 2003-04 seasons before being fired.

Harbaugh has bucked the trend.

"His 15 years he played as a player obviously is a help. He had a good feel for the pro game from that perspective," said 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who came to the Niners with Harbaugh from Stanford. "He worked a couple years with the Raiders, so he got it from the coaching perspective. He came into this position with already a pretty good working knowledge of what the NFL's all about."

Harbaugh has also incorporated some signature phrases and traits he learned as a boy from his coaching father, Jack.

Like that "Who's got it better than us? No-body!" Or his blue-collar approach of untucking his shirt — the standard black pullover fleece with pleated khaki slacks — after a win in tribute to his hard-working uncles.

The 49ers sure know they've got a great thing going, and Harbaugh's chant reinforces that. T-shirts were made with the saying.

On a roster featuring many of the same faces who endured the eight-year playoff drought, Harbaugh has been the biggest difference. The Niners bought in. They went 6-2 on the road and won four of those games in comeback fashion. Those tight matchups were the very ones San Francisco couldn't win in the past.

"It's special," running back Frank Gore said. "I feel that we always had the talent. I think now we have a great staff who know how to work with talent the right way. Coach Harbaugh and his coaching staff did a great job with us, and we always believed in ourselves in this locker room, knowing what we can do. And now this year shows what we're about."

And that Harbaugh can flat out coach — at any level.

-- Janie McCauley

Saints run defense to be tested by 49ers

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — One of Sean Payton's offseason priorities was shoring up the Saints' run defense.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason has decided to retire after 15 NFL seasons. The two-time Pro Bowl selection caught 943 career passes for 12,061 yards and 66 touchdowns.

Mason, 37, spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, later playing six seasons for the Baltimore Ravens.

"I'm done," Mason said. "I won't be playing football. I only knew one play to play football, going all-out and having fun out there."

Cut by the Ravens before training camp in July, he was signed by the New York Jets and later traded to the Houston Texans.

Mason caught 19 passes for 170 yards this season with the Jets and Texans. Mason plans to pursue a career in broadcasting and has appeared on NFL Network recently.

"I'm spending some time at home and doing as much as I can to really get entrenched in some broadcasting network whether it be nationally or do something here locally," Mason said. "I enjoy it a lot."

Other than not winning a Super Bowl after playing in one with the Titans when they lost to the St. Louis Rams following the 1999 NFL season, Mason said he leaves the game with no regrets.

"I leave it healthy and able to run and walk and not take a half-hour or 45 minutes to get out of bed," Mason said. "I don't have lingering pains as of now. Me leaving now, even though it didn't happen the way I wanted it to happen, I had a good run. It was fun while it lasted."

Broncos promote WR Goodwin

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos promoted wide receiver D'Andre Goodwin from their practice squad Tuesday and placed fullback Spencer Larsen on injured reserve with a sprained left knee.

Larsen was injured in the Broncos' season finale Jan. 1, and Denver lost its top receiver, Eric Decker, to a similar injury in its wild-card playoff win over Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Goodwin, an undrafted rookie from Washington, spent the season on Denver's practice squad. The Broncos also added first-year receiver Tim Toone to their practice squad.

"I know the offense pretty well," Goodwin said. "I've been making sure I pay attention to every week's game plan."

The Broncos were missing a handful of players for practice on Tuesday as the team prepared for its second-round playoff game at New England this weekend. Among those sitting out were defensive end Elvis Dumervil (right ankle) and Decker, along with safeties Brian Dawkins (neck), and David Bruton (Achilles). Tight end Daniel Fells also sat out with an unspecified injury.

Ravens WR Boldin wins case against ex-agent

TALLAHASEE, Fla. (AP) — Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Anquan Boldin has won a judgment of more than $280,000 in a lawsuit filed in Florida against his former agent.

The case was filed last year in federal bankruptcy court in Tallahassee against the agent, Darrell Eugene Wills. Boldin claimed Wills defaulted on a loan dating to 2004 that was intended for a new sports business. The judgment total includes interest and attorney's fees.

In the meantime Wills filed for bankruptcy. An attorney for Willis says he does not know if the debt has been paid. A Boldin lawyer did not respond Tuesday to an email seeking comment.

Boldin is a Florida native who played college ball at Florida State. With the Ravens this year he has caught 57 passes for 887 yards and three touchdowns.

Broncos win earns best wild-card rating since '94

NEW YORK (AP) — The Tim Tebow-led Broncos' overtime victory over the Steelers earned the highest television rating for a wild-card game in 18 years.

Denver's 29-23 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday on CBS drew a 24.0 rating and 40 share. The network said Tuesday that was the best since a 24.1/48 for Kansas City-Miami in 1994.

The average of 42.4 million viewers was up 8 percent from last year's Packers-Eagles matchup in the same slot — a game that at the time was the highest-rated in the wild-card round in a dozen years.

Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time.