Houston does well in debut

Mario Williams, Steve Slaton and the Houston Texans put on quite a show in their “Monday Night Football” debut.

Williams had a season-high three sacks and forced a fumble and Slaton ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Texans to a 30-17 win over the slumping Jacksonville Jaguars.

Andre Johnson had a touchdown reception and Kris Brown kicked three field goals in the victory, a highlight in Houston’s disappointing season so far.

The top pick in the 2006 draft, Williams brought down quarterback David Garrard in the second, third and fourth quarters. He forced a fumble by Garrard on his last sack and Houston recovered on the seven-yard line.

Slaton scored on the next play to make it 23-3 with about five minutes left. The rookie tacked on a 40-yard touchdown run and finished with 130 yards rushing in 21 carries. He also had two catches for 52 yards.

Slaton, Williams and the rest of the Texans (5-7) wore their “Battle Red” uniforms for their first Monday night game. The city of Houston hosted a Monday night game for the first time since Nov. 21, 1994, when the New York Giants beat the Oilers at the Astrodome.

Sage Rosenfels, making his fourth consecutive start in place of injured Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, threw for 200 yards and a score with an interception.

Jacksonville (4-8), a playoff team last season, has lost five of six after another lackluster performance. The Jaguars had three turnovers and missed a field-goal attempt. Garrard fell to the turf twice without being touched by the defense.