by By JOHN McCLAIN, houston chronicle , The Houston Chronicle

The Texans didn't have much go right in their preseason home opener Saturday:

The Good

A dynamic duo: After going 7-of-7 last week, QB Matt Schaub was 11-of-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown Saturday. And starting running back Steve Slaton averaged 5 yards per carry (6 for 30).

The BAD

No defense: Check out the numbers: 420 yards allowed, including 173 rushing. Big plays galore (46-yard TD run by Mike Bell, 47-yard reception by Adrian Arrington, 79-yard punt return for a touchdown by Rod Harper).

The Ugly

Going nowhere: The Texans couldn't score from the 2 with the game in the balance in the third quarter, picking up nothing on third down and turning the ball over on fourth down.

PHOTO GALLERY: Check out the photos from the field and the stands at the Texans' preseason home opener. chron.com/ Texans

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan better think twice before he shows his players tape of the Texans' rotten performance against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night at Reliant Stadium.

If Ryan lets his players see it, they're bound to get overconfident before they come to Reliant Stadium for the regular-season opener.

The only good thing that can be said about the 38-14 loss is that it was an exhibition. And what a poor exhibition of Football it was, and that includes offense, defense and special teams.

It's a good thing Brett Favre is coming to town with the Minnesota Vikings next Monday. ESPN analysts Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden will spend so much time talking about Favre's nationally televised performance at Reliant Stadium, they might overlook just how bad the Texans were against the Saints.

"I'm disappointed," coach Gary Kubiak said. "I'm disappointed that we didn't stop the run, and I'm disappointed that we didn't run any better than we did."

Playing without running back Reggie Bush and offensive tackle Jamaal Brown, the Saints embarrassed the Texans for 173 yards rushing, including a 6.4-yard average per carry.

Mike Bell, who spent a few days in the Texans' training camp last year, must have brought a chip on his shoulder the size of the Superdome because he rushed for 100 yards on 10 carries, including a 46-yard touchdown run.

The Texans responded with only 70 yards rushing, including a 2.8-yard average per carry. Steve Slaton, who carried six times for 30 yards before retiring for the night, was the only good thing to come from the running game.

"That's way out of whack," Kubiak said about the Saints' and Texans' rushing totals. "That's not what we're about. We don't want to be in a situation where we can run and have to throw 30 to 35 times. That's not us."

Quarterbacks Matt Schaub, Dan Orlovsky and Alex Brink threw 41 times and completed 27 for 271 yards. After not committing a turnover in a terrible rainstorm in Kansas City, they coughed it up two times against the Saints on an interception and a fumble by Orlovsky.

"I thought Dan improved tonight," Kubiak said, "but I told him you can't turn it over like that right before the half. You've got to throw it away in that situation."

After Schaub went 11-of-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown, Orlovsky came off the bench and was 11-of-17 for 136.

Bad decision

With two minutes left in the first half, the Texans had a first down at the New Orleans' 36. Orlovsky tried to force the ball into coverage, and cornerback Jabari Grerr intercepted and returned it 23 yards. The Saints got a field goal out of it to lead 17-7 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Orlovsky threw a beautiful 23-yard touchdown pass to Andr? Davis to pull the Texans within 17-14, but Rod Harper returned a Matt Turk punt 79 yards for a touchdown to build the lead back to 10.

The Texans had a chance to make it interesting again before they became completely unglued.

Orlovsky drove them to a third down at the 2-yard line. They needed 1 yard for first-and-goal at the 1. They went nowhere on third down. On fourth down, Orlovsky tried to roll out to his left, but outside linebacker Anthony Waters was all over him before the quarterback could take a breath.

Turnover No. 2

Waters took the ball away for a sack and a fumble, and the Texans decided they'd done enough for the night and allowed the Saints to score on two more rushing touchdowns.

"As coaches, we put him in a difficult situation on fourth down, but he's going to learn from that," Kubiak said. "We wanted to throw to (tight end James) Casey on the back side, but he (Orlovsky) didn't get deep enough on the boot. He knew he was going to get a back-side blitz. He'll learn from it."

Kubiak would have to use a microscope to find anything positive to come out of this game after the Texans led 7-0.

Fast start, slow finish

"We came out with a lot of energy, got off to a fast start with that first touchdown drive, but they answered and kept answering," Kubiak said.

All three Saints quarterbacks - Drew Brees, Joey Harrington and Mark Brunell - had a hand in the victory. In the fourth quarter, Brunell took them on 99- and 66-yard touchdown drives.

john.mcclain@chron.com

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