The Texans dominated the Titans on both sides of the football yesterday.  Matt Schaub was efficient yesterday in completing 25 of 35 passes for 178 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Arian Foster was incredible yesterday as he carried the ball 30 times for 143 yards (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 9 passes for 75 yards (8.3 avg).  Derrick Ward pitched in with 47 yards rushing on 7 carries (6.7 ypc) yesterday.  The Texans were led in the passing game by WR Andre Johnson (9 rec, 56 yards and a TD) and TE Joel Dreessen (3 rec, 15 yards, TD) yesterday.  Johnson was ejected from this game late for getting into a fist fight with CB Cortland Finnegan of the Titans.  The Texans finished up with 188 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 35 passes for 158 yards as they had possession of the ball for 39:41!

LB Brian Cushing (7 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed) and CB Glover Quin (4 tackles, 5 passes defensed, 1 QB hit and 2 interceptions) led the way for the Texans’ D which was outstanding yesterday.  The Titans finished up wtih 24 yards rushing on 12 carries (2.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 31 passes for 138 yards.  The Texans are right back in the hunt for the AFC South with a 5-6 record.

The Texans have lost four games in a row and the last two came in devastating fashion.  They at least seem to be catching a Titans’ team who is also have problems both on and off the field.  The Titans have lost three games in a row.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball:  I think the Texans should come out passing the ball to get a quick lead on the Titans.  The Titans are allowing 258.7 yards passing per game, but, Matt Schaub is going to have to be careful as the Titans have 30 sacks and 15 interceptions so far this year.  Still, Schaub will take aim at the Titans’ secondary with Andre Johnson, Joel Dreessen, Jacoby Jones, Kevin Walter and Arian Foster.  Make no mistake though, Arian Foster is going to get his fair share of carries this weekend.

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to feed the ball to Chris Johnson and that’s a good idea for them.  He averaged 174 yards per game and 7.7 yards per carry against the Texans last season.  The team must slow down Johnson because the Titans are starting a rookie QB (Rusty Smith).  The Titans will likely take a couple of shots deep off play action to Randy Moss and Nate Washington so the secondary needs to be ready.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 27, TITANS 21

The Texans were down 23-7 with 14:51 left in this game and that’s when the offense went to work putting up 20 straight points to take a 27-23 lead with only 55 seconds left.  But the defense has been awful this year and it was again last Sunday when the Jets went right down the field in 5 plays (72 yards) and scored a TD with 10 seconds left in the game! 

Matt Schaub was efficient in this game as he completed 19 of 33 passes for 254 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Arian Foster also came to play in this game with 22 carries for 84 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 6 passes for 59 yards (9.8 avg).  Joel Dreessen was the main man in the passing game for the Texans with 4 catches for 106 yards (26.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Texans finished up with 97 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 33 passes for 246 yards.

The defense was pretty awful in this game for the Texans (once again).  The Jets finished up with 103 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 38 passes for 298 yards.  The Texans are now 4-6 on the season.

The Texans are reeling now as they have lost three games in a row including the devastating loss to the Jags last weekend on a Hail Mary.  The Texans are 2-2 on the road and the Jets are 2-2 on the road so something has to give.  Here’s a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans will likely try to mix things up on offense with Arian Foster’s running and Matt Schaub’s passing.  The Texans are averaging 5.0 yards per carry this year while the Jets are only giving up 3.4 yards per carry so something has to give this weekend.  The Jets will need to put pressure on Matt Schaub because they can be passed on.  Andre Johnson, Joel Dreessen, Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones will all be likely involved in the passing game this Sunday.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to pound the ball on the ground with LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene this Sunday against a Texans’ D that is allowing 108.3 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry.  This should be the week that Rex Ryan takes the shackles off of QB Mark Sanchez because the Texans are allowing 301.3 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 110.2 Rating against them.  Look for Sanchez to keep Dustin Keller, Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and L.T. heavily involved in the passing game.

PREDICTION:  JETS 30, TEXANS 24

I’m starting to think that 49-year old head coach Gary Kubiak is doomed to be around a .500 coach in his career with the Texans.  He has them at 4-5 on the season and they really didn’t do much to help the defense during the off-season that has panned out.  The Texans are giving up 28.6 points per game and 409.7 yards per contest and it’s hard to win any games when you have that exacta working for you.  The Texans are 35-38 (47.9%) in Kubiak’s first five years as the head coach.

The Houston Texans have placed 27-year old cornerback Carl Paymah on the Injured Reserve List due to a wrist injury.  Paymah played in 2 games for the Texans this year and he had 2 tackles.  He has now played in 74 games in his NFL career and he has 130 tackles, 14 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 3 interceptions.  Paymah’s loss shouldn’t hurt the Texans too bad despite their awful pass defense as he wasn’t too good himself.

All the Texans had to do was hold the Jaguars out of the end zone to get to O.T.  But, Jags’ QB David Garrard heaved a 50-yard bomb that Texans’ CB Glover Quin batted down (which was what he was supposed to do in that situation) but WR Mike Thomas caught the ball and ran it into the end zone!  What a depressing defeat for the Texans. 

Matt Schaub completed 22 of 32 passes for 314 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs yesterday.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 14 yards (4.7 ypc) in this game.  Arian Foster carried the ball 15 times for 56 yards (3.7 ypc) with a TD run yesterday.  Derrick Ward pitched in with 11 yards rushing on 3 carries (3.7 ypc).  WRs Andre Johnson (9 rec, 146 yards, TD) and Kevin Walter (6 rec, 90 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Texans yesterday.  The Texans finished up with 81 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 32 passes for 314 yards despite only having possession of the football for 24:37.

CB Glover Quin (13 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed), LB Brian Cushing (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) and LB Zac Diles (8 tackles) led the way for the Texans’ D yesterday.  The Jaguars finished up with 165 yards rushing on 36 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 31 passes for 326 yards.  The Texans are now 4-5 on the season as it’s going south very quickly.

These teams are tied in the AFC South, 1 game behind both the Titans & Colts so this is a HUGE football game.  The Texans are 2-1 on the road this year while the Jaguars are 2-2 at home.  The Texans have lost two games in a row and they will be going up against a rested Jaguars team that is coming off their bye week.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the football:  The Texans are going to try to mix it up this weekend in Jacksonville.  Arian Foster is the leading rusher in the NFL right now (864 yards) and he will be taking aim at a Jags’ D that is allowing 119.1 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry so he should have success.  If the Texans give Matt Schaub time to throw the ball both he and Andre Johnson could have big games against a Jags’ D that is allowing 267.1 yards passing per game and a opposing QB Rating of 103.8.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  David Garrard is coming of probably his best game of his NFL career (against the Cowboys) two weeks ago so look for the Jags to be more balanced than usual.  That doesn’t mean that Maurice Jones-Drew won’t get his usual number of touches in this game…..because he will.  The Texans only have 12 sacks this year and they are allowing 298.3 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 107.7 Rating against them.  Look for Garrard to spread the ball around to Mike Sims-Walker, Mike Thomas, Marcedes Lewis and Maurice Jones-Drew.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 34, TEXANS 31

The Texans have claimed 27-year old cornerback Jason Allen off waivers from the Dolphins.  Allen played in 8 games for the Dolphins this season and he had 32 tackles, 8 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  He has now played in 71 games in five years in the NFL and he has 172 tackles, 19 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 8 interceptions.  The Texans need all the help in the secondary that they can get as they are giving up 298.3 yards passing per game so far this year and opposing QBs have a 107.7 Rating against them.  I like this pickup for the Texans.

25-year old safety Bernard Pollard was awesome last season for the Texans.  He played in 13 games in which he had 102 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 4 interceptions (121 yards in returns with 1 TD).  This year has just not been the same despite Pollard leading the team in tackles as the big plays just have not been there for him.  Pollard has played in 8 games for the Texans so far this year and he has 74 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles.  The Texans need Pollard to start making some big plays like he did last year.