The Steelers are going to find out really quickly this Sunday that they aren’t playing the Seahawks or Colts.  The Texans are a very physical offensive team and they are looking forward to taking the fight to the Steelers’ defense this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans are going to come out and try to punch the Steelers in the mouth in the running game with Arian Foster and Ben Tate.  The Steelers are giving up 4.6 yards per carry this season, so I think the Texans are going to be effective running the ball against them.  The Steelers are still a heavy blitzing unit, so don’t be surprised if Matt Schaub keeps the passing game short and give his receivers and TEs chances to break tackles and get down the field.  WR Andre Johnson is a huge mis-match against the Steelers’ secondary, so be very excited if he’s on your fantasy team this weekend.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers can’t run the ball and Ben Roethlisberger has already turned the ball over 8 times this year!  That doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to put up a fight though.  They are likely going to try to get the running game going, so the Texans’ front seven are going to have to take care of Rashard Mendenhall.  Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 9 times already this year, so the Texans are going to be blitzing him like crazy.  They will still have to deal with Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, who have made a lot of plays down the field.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 27, STEELERS 17

The Texans have waived 25-year old RB Steve Slaton.  Slaton played in 3 games for the Texans this year and he carried the ball 7 times for 20 yards (2.9 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 6 yards also this year.  Slaton played in 42 games in his 4 years with the Texans and he carried the ball 425 times for 1,832 yards (4.3 ypc) with 12 TD carries.  He also caught 98 passes for 811 yards (8.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs for the Texans.  With Arian Foster back and ready to rock, the Texans decided that they had better uses for Slaton’s roster spot which led to his release.

27-year old cornerback Jonathan Joseph wasn’t the Texans’ first choice to sign as far as cornerbacks were concerned (Nnamdi Asomugha), but he has really played well so far.  Joseph has played in all 3 games for the Texans so far this year and he has 12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 5 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The secondary is playing a lot better for the Texans this year and Joseph is a big part of it.

The Saints scored 23 points in the 4th quarter as the defense of the Texans collapsed when they really needed to step up.  Matt Schaub did his part for the Texans as he completed 22 of 39 passes for 373 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ben Tate got another start at RB and he was solid as he carried the ball 19 times for 82 yards (4.3 ypc).  FB James Casey carried the ball 1 time for 11 yards and he also caught 5 passes for 126 yards (25.2 avg) with 1 TD grab in the best game of his NFL career so far.  WR Andre Johnson (7 rec, 128 yards), TE Owen Daniels (5 rec, 76 yards, TD) and WR Kevin Walter (3 rec, 35 yards, TD) had solid games for the Texans also.  The Texans finished up with 109 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 39 passes (56.4%) for 364 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:06.

The Texans’ defense was solid for three quarters and awful in the 4th quarter, which cost them this game.  CB Kareem Jackson (8 tackles), safety Glover Quin (8 tackles) and LB Demeco Ryans (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Texans in this game.  DE J.J. Watt was also effective in this game as he finished up with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  Safety Danieal Manning and CB Jonathan Joseph each pitched in with 1 interception apiece in this game.  The Saints finished up with 100 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 44 passes (70.5%) for 354 yards.  The Texans are now 2-1 on the year.

The Texans are 2-0 on the year but they are going to get challenged for the first time this weekend in New Orleans.  The Saints looked really solid in beating up on the Chicago Bears last weekend, so the Texans are in for a fight this Sunday in the Big Easy.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans are going to try to fight fire with fire in this game.  But, I don’t see them getting away from the running game unless they have to.  Ben Tate already has 219 yards rushing this season and he is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.  The Saints are giving up 4.2 yards per carry but only 81.5 yards rushing per game.  Part of the reason for the low yard totals for the Saints’ D is because teams sometime avoid the running game in an effort to keep up with the Saints.  If the Texans have issues running the ball or if they fall behind in this game, Matt Schaub is plenty equipped to get into a fire fight with the Saints through the air.  The Saints try to make their weak secondary with blitzing, so Schaub will look to make them pay with shorter passes to Andre Johnson, TE Owen Daniels and Ben Tate out of the backfield.  He will likely try to get the Texans’ secondary to creep up to stop the short stuff and then attack over the top to Jacoby Jones.

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are likely going to come out throwing the ball against the Texans.  The Texans have done a really solid job of defending the pass so far this year as they are only giving up 162.5 yards passing per game this year.  But, those stats were put up against Chad Henne and Kerry Collins, neither of which is near the caliber of a QB that Drew Brees is.  That means the Texans will likely blitz a lot more than usual.  The Texans will have to disguise them pretty well especially when Darren Sproles is in the game for the Saints.  That is because a screen pass to Sproles while the Texans are blitzing is a recipe for disaster.  The safeties will have to check TE Jimmy Graham, who is developing into a favorite of Brees.  The corners will have to be able to handle Robert Meachem, Lance Moore and Devery Henderson without much help over the top.  The Saints might also try to get the running game going with Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles…so the linebackers won’t be able to cheat to help out against the pass.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 30, TEXANS 24

The Houston Texans have lost 28-year old backup OT Rashad Butler for the rest of the season due to torn triceps that he injured against the Dolphins last weekend.  Butler played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Texans this year.  He has now played in 42 games (4 starts) for the Texans in his first five years with the team.  The Texans have signed 25-year old OT Andrew Gardner off the practice squad and he will replace Butler in his role as the backup OT.  Gardner has only played in 1 game in his NFL career and it came way back in 2009 with the Dolphins.

31-year old RB Derrick Ward has a high ankle sprain which will cause him to miss multiple weeks.  Ward started the season opener for the Texans and he carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Ward played in all 16 games (0 starts) in his first year with the Texans in 2010 and he carried the ball 50 times for 315 yards (6.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 7 passes for 61 yards (8.7 avg) last year.  With Arian Foster (hamstring) also missing some time, the Texans are getting thin at RB.  But they still have Ben Tate and Steve Slaton so they should be o.k. until Foster and Ward are ready to return to action.

30-year old QB Matt Schaub has been pretty solid for the Texans so far this year.  He has played in both of the Texans games and he has completed 38 of 53 passes (71.7%) for 450 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs (100.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 6 times for 2 yards (0.3 ypc) for the Texans so far this year.  The Texans are running the ball so well this year that they have not needed Schaub to go out and win a game himself yet and that’s a good thing.

The Texans knocked off the Fins in Miami yesterday but it wasn’t easy.  Matt Schaub was very efficient in this game as he completed 21 of 29 passes for 230 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Ben Tate led the way on the ground for the Texans in this game with 103 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.5 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 32 yards (8.0 avg).  Arian Foster started at RB and he carried the ball 10 times for 33 yards (3.3 ypc) and caught 2 passes for 7 yards (3.5 avg) before leaving the game because his hamstring was barking.  WR Andre Johnson led the way in the passing game for the Texans yesterday with 7 grabs for 93 yards (13.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Jacoby Jones (3 rec, 48 yards) and TE Owen Daniels (3 rec, 25 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Texans in this game.  The Texans finished up with 138 yards rushing on 36 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 29 passes (72.4%) for 207 yards as they had possession of the ball for 34:06.

The defense had issues stopping the running game of the Dolphins yesterday, but they were awesome against the pass.  LB Brian Cushing led the way for the Texans with 10 tackles and 1 QB hit.  Safety Danieal Manning had 7 tackles and he returned 2 kickoffs for 77 yards (38.5 avg) in this game.  CB Jonathan Joseph (4 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception) and safety Glover Quin (4 tackles and 1 fumble recovery) also pitched in for the Texans on D.  The Dolphins finished up with 153 yards rushing on 28 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 30 passes (40%) for 153 yards.  The Texans are now 2-0 on the season.

The Houston Texans rolled over the Colts last week and they have to be foaming at the mouth after watching game film of the supposedly good Dolphins’ defense.  The Dolphins will be a much better test for the Texans’ D as they rolled up 488 total yards against the Patriots last Monday Night.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans are getting Arian Foster back tomorrow.  But, I look for Ben Tate to also get some carries as they will ease Foster back into a heavy workload due to his injured hamstring.  The Texans have to look at the matchups at WR and TE, where they have huge advantages over the Dolphins.  I look for Matt Schaub to air it out tomorrow, as the Dolphins corners (Vontae Davis and Sean Smith) can’t handle Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones.  TE Owen Daniels could also have a big game tomorrow as the Patriots’ TEs torched the Fins last weekend.

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Texans aren’t too worried about Reggie Bush gashing the defense in the running game, but they will have to deal with him out of the backfield in the passing game and that could be a problem.  OLB Mario Williams and the rest of the defense is going to have to put pressure on Dolphins’ QB Chad Henne because he has a very solid gang of WRs and TEs.  CBs Jonathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson are going to be challenged by Brandon Marshall, Brian Hartline and Davone Bess in this game.  The Dolphins also threw the ball a lot to TE Anthony Fasano, so safeties Danieal Manning and Glover Quin better be ready to deal with him tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 31, DOLPHINS 28