The Houston Texans (5-6) looked like they might blow out the undefeated Indianapolis Colts (11-0), but they could not keep a lead and they let the Colts come back.  Matt Schaub helped lead the Texans to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and a 20-7 lead at half.  Steve Slaton and Chris Brown ran the ball well as a duo, combining for 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.  Schaub was not smart enough with the ball and threw two interceptions.  He did have 2 touchdown passes and finished the game with 284 yards on 31/42 attempts.

The Texans defense seemed like they had Peyton Manning’s number in the first half, picking him off twice and only giving up 7 points in the first half.  Manning and the Colts made some adjustments at halftime and the Texans were not able to keep up.  They let Manning and the Colts score 28 points in the second half, including 21 in the final quarter.  The Texans lost all their momentum when Matt Stover missed a 32-yard field goal early in the 4th which would have put the Texans up two scores.  He blew the kick though and the Colts took over from there.  Manning finished with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while throwing for 244 yards on 27/35 passes.  They also gave up 114 rushing yards to a Colts team that usually struggles to run the ball.  Although the Colts are arguably the best team in the league, the Texans cannot blow such big leads.

25-year old WR/KR/PR Jacoby Jones is a difference maker for the Houston Texans because of his speed.  Jones has carried the ball 2 times for 22 yards (11.0 ypc) and he has also caught 13 passes for 238 yards (18.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs this year.  Jones makes his biggest impact for the Texans on special teams.  He has returned 29 punts for 333 yards (11.5 avg) and 20 kickoffs for 550 yards (27.5 avg) with 1 TD return this season.  Jones has touched the ball 64 times in his 9 games this season for the Texans for 1,143 all purpose yards for a average of 17.9 yards every time he touches the football.  That is a average of 127 yards per game and the Texans are damn glad to have them on their side.

The Houston Texans (5-5) are looking for revenge against the Indianapolis Colts (10-0) who barely beat them three weeks ago in Indianapolis.  The Texans should have sent that game into overtime if not for a missed field goal by their kicker Kris Brown with only seconds left.  The Texans will need a big game out of Matt Schaub if they want to win this one, and he needs to make sure he takes care of the ball like last week where he did not throw any interceptions.  It was the first time he did that since week two, and this will probably be another close game so they cannot afford any turnovers.  The running game has not been producing enough this year, and Steve Slaton is battling a neck injury, so that means even more pressure is on Schaub.

The Texans defense is going to have its hands full with Peyton Manning.  Manning has been great all season for the Colts, and this game will probably be no different.  Manning does have an injured glute though, so he may not be as effective as he usually is.  He will still be Peyton Manning though, and even without a good running game (only 85 rushing yards per game), Manning has lead the Colts this far without a loss.  It should be a close game, but I’m going to go with Manning and the Colts in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Houston Texans 17, Indianapolis Colts 24

The Texans have placed 24-year old CB Antwaun Molden on the Injured Reserve List with a quadriceps injury ending his year.  He played in 4 games for the Texans this season and he had 2 tackles.  In two years with the Texans, Molden has played in 18 games in which he has 22 tackles.  That’s not much of a loss for the Texans.

One of the smartest moves the Texans have made this year was the signing of 24-year old safety Bernard Pollard.  He is already third on the team in tackles despite only playing in 7 games.  Pollard has 50 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 4 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  It’s amazing to me that the Chiefs gave up on this cat as he really brings a lot of thump to the run defense of the Texans.  He will likely be a starter for a long time for the Texans as long as he can stay healthy.

The Texans have signed 34-year old safety Brian Russell.  Russell played in 9 games for the Jaguars this season making 12 tackles.  He has now played in 117 games in his NFL career and he has made 474 tackles, defensed 39 passes, has 3 sacks, forced 3 fumbles and he has 16 interceptions.  Russell should be able to help the Texans out on special teams and give them depth at safety.

The Texans have lost 29-year old safety Eugene Wilson for the year due to a toe injury.  Wilson played in 8 games for the Texans this season and he made 29 tackles, forced 1 fumble, defensed 3 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  23-year old Dominique Barber will get the first shot to replace him in the starting lineup.  Barber has played in 8 games this season for the Texans and he has 19 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 20 games in his two years in the NFL and he has 34 tackles, 3 passes defensed and he has 1 sack.  Barber should be able to do a decent job for the Texans the rest of the way.

Matt Schaub had a big game for the Houston Texans (5-5), but it wasn’t enough for them to get the win agains the Tennessee Titans (4-6) on Monday night.  Schaub had 305 passing yards and 2 touchdowns on 25/39 attempts for a QB rating of 105.2.  Schaub and the Texans were able to get those 2 touchdowns in the first half, but would not reach the endzone the rest of the game.  The running game did not give the Texans’ much, as they only got 57 total rushing yards as a team.  The Titans made some defensive adjustments at halftime and Schaub and the Texans’ offense were not as effective because of it.

The Texans defense could not stop the Titans running game.  Titans’ quarterback Vince Young makes it very difficult to contain their running game, as they run a lot of option type running plays and he has the athleticism to run it very well in the pro-game.  Young rushed for 73 yards on 11 carries, while also having an explosive running back in Chris Johnson who rushed for 151 yards on 29 carries.  With the Titans’ ability to run the ball it opened up the passing game for Young.  He had 116 passing yards and a touchdown on 12/22 attempts.  The Texans were not able to get any points in the fourth quarter, and all the Titans needed was a field goal to win it.  Titans’ kicker Rob Bironas easily nailed a 53-yard field goal with 47 seconds left to lift the Titans over the Texans.

23-year old Steve Slaton was awesome as a rookie for the Texans last season as he played in all 16 games carrying the ball 268 times for 1,282 yards (4.8 ypc) with 9 TD carries.  He also caught 50 passes for 377 yards (7.5 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  Slaton only fumbled the ball 3 times all of last season losing 2 of them.  But, this season Slaton has had butter fingers as he has fumbled 7 times already this season losing 5 of them.  Slaton also has not played too well in general.  He has played in 9 games this season for the Texans and he has carried the ball 116 times for 359 yards (3.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Slaton also has caught 32 passes for 326 yards (10.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs this season.  The Texans really need Slaton to return to the form he showed as a rookie last season to give the offense more balance.  If he continues to put the ball on the ground he will fall behind Ryan Moats and Chris Brown on the depth chart.

The Houston Texans (5-4) are hosting the Tennessee Titans (3-6) for Monday Night Football.  The Texans need to be ready for a solid football team, as the Titans have turned their team around ever since Vince Young became the quarterback.  They have won three straight games and have been led by running back Chris Johnson.  Johnson is averaging 165 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Titans past three games and has been very hard to bring down.  The Texans need to shut him down and they will shut down the Titans.  That is a tough task though, as Vince Young can also take off and run with the ball.  He does a good job not turning the ball over either, with just one interception.

The Texans offense should be able to get a lot of yards through the air.  The Titans give up 270 passing yards per game and Matt Schaub has been leading the Texans’ offense to 280 passing yards per game.  Schaub has been having problems turning the ball over lately though, as he has 4 interceptions in the Texans’ past 2 games.  The Titans are going to try and keep the ball out of Schaubs’ hands as long as possible though, so if they can’t stop the Titans running game Schaub may not have enough opportunities, so I am taking the Titans in a close game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 34, Houston Texans 28