Houston, TX (Best E Casino) - Matt Schaub threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns as the Houston Texans posted a 35-6 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals at Reliant Stadium.

Schaub completed 24-of-28 passes for Houston (3-4), which has now won three consecutive games in a single season for the first time in franchise history. Andre Johnson caught 11 passes for 143 yards, while Kevin Walter had 70 yards receiving and two touchdown catches. Steve Slaton ran for 53 yards and a score on 15 carries.

"We needed to have a lot of fire power," said Texans coach Gary Kubiak. "They were moving the ball there in the first half and we were in a tough football game. I thought in the third quarter we took control of the game as a football team. Big drives on offense, stops on defense, turnovers. We won the turnover battle for the first time this year. That was a big step in the right direction and a great team effort."

Ryan Fitzpatrick continued to struggle, going 20-of-32 passing for 155 yards for the Bengals (0-8), who are winless in their first eight games for the first time since 1994. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught eight passes for 54 yards, and Chad Johnson had five receptions for 44 yards. Cedric Benson led the dismal rushing attack with 49 yards on 13 attempts, and Shayne Graham accounted for all of Cincinnati's points with two field goals.

"It's just one thing here or there; it's a penalty, it's a sack fumble, it's not converting on the third down, it's all kinds of different things," remarked Fitzpatrick. "I think if we did have the answer to that obviously we would be doing a better job."

Jacoby Jones staked the Texans to an early lead, taking a punt 73 yards for a touchdown only 2:18 into the game.

The Bengals came right back with a 13-play drive, allowing Graham to kick a 43-yard field goal to make it 7-3.

Houston answered, however, with a 15-play 91-yard march to the end zone. Schaub found David Anderson wide-open for a six-yard score on a drive that took 9:22 off the clock and ended with 3:23 left in the first half.

Graham added a 32-yard field goal with less than a minute to play in the second to account for the 14-6 halftime score.

Schaub opened the second half by leading a 10-play scoring drive. Johnson made four catches for 65 yards in the set, and Walter finished it off with a seven-yard touchdown for a 21-6 advantage.

The Texans forced another three-and-out and followed with a quick touchdown. From the Bengals' 39, Schaub hit Walter around the Bengals' 20-yard line and the wideout fell to the turf, but he was able to get up and race to the end zone for a score with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third.

The Texans ran down the first five-plus minutes of the clock in the final quarter with an 11-play, 86-yard drive that Slaton capped with a 20-yard touchdown run. The Bengals manage only one first down from there.

Game Notes

The Bengals had never lost to the Texans franchise before Sunday's loss (3-1)...The Texans converted on 10-of-13 third-down chances, while the Bengals went 8-for-14...Houston outgained Cincinnati 384-253...Johnson posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard performance.