SAN DIEGO — Even when the Houston Texans fell behind by three touchdowns on the road in the second half of their season opener, Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson remained confident they could roar right back.

Sure, the San Diego Chargers were off to a solid start for their new coach.

The veteran Texans know how to finish.

Randy Bullock kicked a 41-yard field goal as time expired, and Houston rallied from a 21-point deficit in the second half for a 31-28 victory over the Chargers on Monday night.

“Once you put a score on the board, then another, and the defense gets a stop, the big turnover, it just builds,” said Schaub, who bounced back from an interception on Houston’s first play to pass for 346 yards. “Momentum keeps building, and you can feel that energy, and it’s contagious.”

Brian Cushing returned an interception 18 yards for the tying touchdown with 9:30 to play for the Texans, who erased a 28-7 deficit late in the third quarter to spoil the debut of Chargers coach Mike McCoy.

After two straight division titles and playoff trips, the Texans have ample experience in handling trouble together. Schaub provided steady leadership, and their vaunted defense held San Diego to 90 yards — just 7 on the ground — in the second half.

Eagles 33, Redskins 27

LANDOVER, Md. — After running 30 plays in his first 15 minutes of Chip Kelly football, even Michael Vick was ready for a break.

“I’ve never been a part of anything like it,” the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback said. “When the first quarter was over, I thought we was about to go into halftime. It was unreal. The only thing I could tell myself was, `It’s going to be a long season.”’

Long season, huh? Well, not in the traditional sense. Win or lose, the Eagles were surely going to be exhaustingly entertaining in the first year under Kelly, but the tired feeling is a good one when the don’t-take-a-breath offense works the way it did in Monday night’s 33-27 win over the Washington Redskins.

The Eagles’ 53 plays were the second-most in a first half by an NFL team since 1991. The first-half stats resembled something from an Oregon opener against a creampuff, not a game between NFC East rivals. Total yards: 322-75. First downs: 21-3. Time of possession: 20:20-9:40. Vick completed 15 of 25 passes for 203 yards.