Jim Schwartz's challenge-flag folly helped give Justin Forsett the longest run in Houston Texans history. Forsett isn't about to apologize for it.
"I know now that I was down, but I didn't think I was during the play," Forsett said after the Texans' 34-31 overtime win over Schwartz's Detroit Lions, via The Associated Press. "I didn't think my knee hit, and there was no whistle, so I kept going.
"I wasn't giving the touchdown back."
It was the play of the game, a second-and-10 handoff that should've been marked down after an 8-yard gain. No whistle was blown, however, so Forsett regained his footing and took off running. Eighty-one yards later, he was in the end zone. That set the stage for the most embarrassing moment of Schwartz's career (Non-Harbaugh-Related Division).
"Obviously, that's a big break in the game for us," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "But I think you make your breaks when you work your tail off."
"Give him credit for continuing to play football," Kubiak said of Forsett. "We talk about that all the time. You don't stop, you play."
Kubiak didn't sound like a man with much sympathy for the coach on the other sideline.
"A rule's a rule," he said. "I know one thing: You've got to keep your flag tucked in your pocket."
The man's not wrong.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
