"The reference wasn't exactly obscure — after all, the Texans often flash a Super Mario Brothers cartoon on the JumboTron at Reliant Stadium — but the taunting was bizarre.

All the heckling Sunday at FedEx Field did was motivate defensive end Mario Williams.

"It was crazy," Williams said. "People were yelling at me right behind us on the bench, asking, 'Have I eaten my mushroom?' I listen to fans, and they have to realize that the stuff they say gets taken out on their quarterback.

"They were talking mad smack, which is normal. But you have to be smart about who you talk to.

"They got more than they bargained for."

Williams sacked Donovan McNabb three times in the Texans' 30-27 overtime victory, bringing his season total to four.

This, the former No. 1 overall selection said Tuesday, will be the norm. Maybe not the production, but the mindset. Williams is finished wondering what might have been, dwelling on meager stats from a previous game, or what might be, daydreaming about milestones he could reach in the future.

He's not buckling under the weight of expectations. He's simply playing, and he's playing well, off to the best start of his five-year career.

"He was obviously exceptional," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Sunday.

Again, Williams says this is the norm. He considers himself the best defensive end in the NFL, an opinion he insists is void of arrogance."