The Texans are sending four players to the Pro Bowl in Miami unless of course they are playing in the Super Bowl.  28-year old WR Andre Johnson has made the Pro Bowl once again.  He has played in 15 games this season and he has caught 95 passes for 1,504 yards (15.8 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Rookie linebacker Brian Cushing is one of three rookies (Jairus Byrd, Buffalo and Brian Orakpo, Redskins) to make the Pro Bowl.  22-year old Cushing has played in 15 games this season and he has made 128 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks,  1 forced fumble, 10 passes defensed and 4 interceptions.  What a great pick Cushing was last April by the Texans.  25-year old linebacker Demeco Ryans earned a trip to Miami also.  He has played in 15 games for the Texans this season and he has made 116 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  24-year old DE Mario Williams will also make the trip.  Williams played in 15 games for the Texans this season and he has made 41 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 3 passes defensed and he has 8 sacks.  It looks like the defense is starting to finally catch up with the offense for the Texans and that means they have a very bright future.

The Texans jumped the Dolphins early in this game as they were leading 27-3 at halftime but then they had to hold off a furious second half comeback from the Fins to prevail.  Matt Schaub was very effective as usual as he completed 20 of 31 passes for 286 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Arian Foster led the way on the ground for the Texans in this game with 19 carries for 97 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Ryan Moats pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 8 carries (2.9 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 39 yards (9.8 avg).  Andre Johnson had another solid game with 5 catches for 71 yards (14.2 avg) with a TD catch.  Jacoby Jones was also very effective in this game with 2 grabs for 79 yards (39.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Texans finished up with 406 total yards on offense (126 rushing, 280 passing) in this game.

LBs Demeco Ryans (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and Brian Cushing (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 interception).  The Dolphins finished up with 363 total yards on offense (60 rushing, 303 passing) in this game.  The Texans are now 8-7 on the season as they have kept their playoff hopes alive.

The Houston Texans had to really fight to prevail over the hapless Rams today.  Matt Schaub completed 28 of 40 passes for 367 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs today.  Ryan Moats led the Texans on the ground in this game with 46 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.5 ypc).  Andre Johnson was unstoppable in this game for the Texans today as he caught 9 passes for 196 yards (21.8 avg).  Kevin Walter pitched in with 4 grabs for 43 yards (10.8 avg) with a TD catch.  The Texans finished up with 419 total yards on offense (52 rushing, 367 passing) in this game.

The defense is what won the game today for the Texans and that doesn’t happen very often.  Safety Bernard Pollard had another monster game with 11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit and 1/2 a sack.  LBs Demeco Ryans (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and Brian Cushing (7 tackles, 1/2 sack, 1 QB hit) also were stout in this contest for the Texans.  Safety Dominique Barber pitched in with 4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception to help out on the D.  The Rams finished up with 237 total yards on offense (88 rushing, 149 passing) in this game.  The Texans improve to 7-7 on the year as they are still in the playoff hunt.

The Houston Texans still have a chance to make the playoffs if they can run the table and win their last three games.  It all starts tomorrow against the flu ravaged St. Louis Rams.  The Texans will come off the team bus throwing the football against a Rams’ D that is allowing 222.8 yards passing per game.  The Texans should give Matt Schaub a lot of time to survey the field as the Rams don’t rush the passer too well.  That means that Andre Johnson could have a huge game tomorrow!  It’s important that the Texans keep the pedal to the metal on offense to break the will of the Rams early tomorrow.  Arian Foster is getting a nice draw for his first NFL start against a Rams’ D that is allowing 147.2 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry this year.

The Texans will want to gang up on Steven Jackson tomorrow with Demeco Ryans and Brian Cushing likely following him all over the place.  If the Texans succeed in stopping the Rams’ running game that will put a lot of pressure on rookie QB Keith Null who will likely be starting his second game of his NFL career.  The Texans should really consider blitzing more than usual if Null is indeed the starting QB as he seemed puzzled last week throwing 5 interceptions in his NFL debut against the Titans last week.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 38, RAMS 3

25-year old WR/PR/KR Jacoby Jones has really been a excellent player for the Texans this season.  He has played in 11 games for the Texans this season and he has caught 17 passes for 276 yards (16.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 2 times for 22 yards (11.0 ypc) this year.  Jones is really the most dangerous on special teams for the Texans as he has returned 21 kickoffs for 579 yards (27.6 avg) with 1 TD return and he has also returned 36 punts for 397 yards (11.0 avg) this season.  Jones has now touched the ball 76 times this season for 1,274 yards (16.8 avg. per touch) and he has 5 total TDs.  Jones is averaging 115.8 all-purpose yards per game this season.