EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The great players love the big stage, live for the bright-light moments. It's probably no surprise that Arian Foster took over on Monday Night Football, grabbing the game, one spectacular play at a time.

Foster is clearly one of the best players in all of football, the running back who continues to dominate in a passing league.

And he's the biggest reason the Houston Texans remain undefeated at 5-0, having turned back a desperate New York Jets team 23-17 with all of the NFL watching.

Foster racked up 168 yards on 30 touches of the football, carrying the Texans offense in a game that turned into something of a slog. Foster can put the pretty in any game — no matter how ugly, no matter how much it seems in doubt.

Houston remains one of the NFL's last two undefeated teams in large part because of its defense — with J.J. Watt getting a big sack, Connor Barwin knocking down a crucial pass and Kareem Jackson intercepting the Jets' last real chance. But Wade Phillips' Bulls On Parade never have a lead to hold without No. 23.

He fitting became the third fastest back in NFL history to ever get 5,000 yards from the line of scrimmage this game. Foster doesn't do records quietly. He grabs games while collecting them.

Foster had 100 yards by halftime, on only nine carries. With backup tailback Ben Tate out with a toe injury, there was less backup than usual. No matter. Foster is fine with carrying the load.

Rex Ryan's Jets defense simply couldn't keep up with his speed and quick cuts.

With Matt Schaub not at his best (a 71.9 quarterback rating, one interception) and Tim Tebow (five carries for 19 yards and one incomplete pass) still much more deadly in headlines than on the football field, there is little doubt who the best offensive player on the field is.

The Jets pulled within 20-14 on a 100-yard kickoff return by Joe McKnight, who shrugged off Texans rookie DeVier Posey's tackle attempt five yards from the goal line. Then, Ryan got daring — calling for an onsides kick rather than trusting the defense he often waxes poetic about.

Houston recovered and promptly drove 42 yards for a somewhat unsatisfying chip-shot field goal and a 23-14 lead. Despite plenty of opportunities, the Texans would struggle to put the Jets away.

The team that dominated in the first four weeks of the season — outscoring its opponents by a combined 70 points — never completely appeared at Met Life Stadium.

When Watt — yes, that man again — sacked Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez on third-and-10 with less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Texans still had control of another game though. Not that there wouldn't be some more anxious moments.

The New York Stage

The Jets brought out plenty of New York star power for the Monday night showcase. Comedian Kevin James led the J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS chant in the pregame ceremonies. The cast from Jersey Boys sang the national anthem.

Then, the Texans drove 85 yards in only eight plays on the game's first offensive possession. This opening sequence was a thing of beauty, as good as anything Bill Walsh used to script back in the day.

It began with a nine-yard pass to Kevin Walter followed by a gorgeous play-action fake, setting up a 14-yard bullet to Owen Daniels and a reverse to Keshawn Martin (a play last used against Denver in Week Three) for 14 more yards. The final play? A 34-yard, down-the-middle strike to Daniels for the touchdown, a play in which Schaub had his choice of absolutely wide-open receivers.

Texans 7, Jets 0. And the game was only 3:55 old.

No one would have expected then that Houston would go nearly 14 minutes before scoring again. Even a 46-yard cut-back run from Foster that brought the Texans out of the shadow of their own goal line to the 50 didn't result in any points.