28-year old Matt Schaub finally stayed healthy for a complete season and he put up staggering numbers.  Schaub played in 16 games for the Texans this season and he completed 396 of 583 passes (67.9%) for 4,770 yards with 29 TD passes and 15 INTs (98.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 48 times for 57 yards (1.2 ypc) this year.  Schaub got robbed for the Pro Bowl as he outplayed Tom Brady.  Maybe he will make it next season if he has another year like he did in 2009.  Schaub has now played in 76 games in his NFL career and he has completed 923 of 1,413 passes (65.3%) for 11,087 yards with 59 TD passes and 40 INTs (91.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 120 times for 300 yards (2.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career.

29-year old Rex Grossman was the only other Texans’ QB to get on the field this season.  He played in 1 game and he completed 3 of 9 passes (33.3%) for 33 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (5.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 3 times for 9 yards (3.0 ypc) this season.  Grossman has now played in 37 games in his NFL career and he has completed 524 of 971 passes (54%) for 6,197 yards with 33 TD passes and 36 INTs (69.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 58 times for 89 yards (1.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  The Texans will probably stick with Dan Orlovsky as the back-up QB in 2010 and let Grossman go.

Linebacker Brian Cushing of the Houston Texans has won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.  Cushing played in all 16 games for the Texans last season and he made 134 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, forced 2 fumbles, defensed 10 passes and he intercepted four passes.  The Texans have really done a good job of drafting the last few years and they need to keep up the good work.

The Texans scored the last 21 points of the game yesterday to prevail showing a ton of heart.  Matt Schaub was very effective once again for the Texans as he completed 24 of 39 passes for 303 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Arian Foster was excellent yesterday as he rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries (6.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also added 3 receptions for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  TE Joel Dreessen led the way for the Texans in the passing game with 6 receptions for 81 yards (13.5 avg) with a TD grab.  WRs Andre Johnson (6 rec, 65 yards) and Jacoby Jones (5 rec, 65 yards, TD) also had solid games for the Texans yesterday.  The Texans finished up with 439 total yards on offense (144 rushing, 295 passing) in this game.

Safety Bernard Pollard led the way for the Texans in this game with 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception and he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD.  Demeco Ryans (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), Glover Quin (7 tackles, 2 passes defensed) and Dunta Robinson (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) also pitched in on a decent effort by the Texans’ D yesterday.  The Patriots finished up with 317 total yards on offense (74 yards rushing, 243 passing) in this game.  The Texans finished with a winning record (9-7) for the first time in frachise history by they were eliminated from the playoffs last night when the Jets pounded the Bengals.

The Texans need a win and some help to make the playoffs for the first time in team history so they should be focused while the Patriots are playing for the #3 seed in the playoffs so it’s quite possible that they will take it easy tomorrow.  With the Patriots likely not completely motivated tomorrow the Texans should try to jump them immediately by throwing the ball down the field.  If the Texans give Schaub time to throw the ball he will likely combine with Andre Johnson to torture the Patriots’ secondary.  Look for Arian Foster to lend some ground support to Schaub in the game tomorrow.

The Texans won’t likely see much of Tom Brady tomorrow and if that is a fact they should be blitzing undrafted rookie QB Brian Hoyer a lot.  But, if the Patriots are resting their receivers too then they will likely lean on the running game.  That means that they will be challeging Pro Bowl linebackers Demeco Ryans and Brian Cushing with their very average set of RBs.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 30, PATRIOTS 17

The Texans have placed 23-year old strong safety Dominique Barber on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a hamstring injury.  Barber played in 13 games this season for the Texans and he made 33 tackles, defensed 4 passes and he had 1 interception.  The Texans have re-signed 31-year old safety Brian Russell to replace Barber on the roster.  Russell played in 2 games for the Texans earlier this season making 1 tackle.  He has played in 11 games overall this season with the Jags+Texans in which he has 13 tackles.