The Texans pushed the Jaguars around yesterday on both sides of the ball.  Matt Schaub was solid as he completed 16 of 30 passes for 225 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards and it went for a TD.  Arian Foster led the way on the ground for the Texans in this game with 33 carries for 112 yards (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  Ben Tate carried the ball 5 times for 42 yards (8.4 ypc) but he lost a fumble.  WR Kevin Walter (5 rec, 70 yards) and TEs Owen Daniels (4 rec, 60 yards) and Joel Dreessen (2 rec, 19 yards, TD) led the way for the Texans in the passing game.  The Texans finished up with 156 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 30 passes (53.3%) for 202 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:19.

The defense was outstanding for the Texans yesterday.  LB Brian Cushing led the way for the Texans in this game with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 interception.  Safety Troy Nolan (5 tackles), DE J.J. Watt (5 tackles) and CB Jason Allen (2 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in for the Texans.  The Jaguars finished up with 84 yards rushing on 25 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 32 passes (31.3%) for 90 yards.  The Texans are now 5-3 on the season.

The Houston Texans are coming off a huge win in beating the Titans 41-7 in Tennessee.  The Jaguars are also coming off an impressive 12-7 win last Monday Night at home against the Ravens.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans have turned into a run first team without Andre Johnson.  I don’t look for that to change this weekend as they are going to feed the ball to Arian Foster and give it to Ben Tate when he needs a break.  The Jaguars are only giving up 103.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so far, so Foster & Tate will have to fight for their yards this Sunday.  The Jaguars aren’t a big pass rush team, so Matt Schaub should have time to throw the ball.  Look for him to spread the ball around to Kevin Walter, Owen Daniels, Jacoby Jones and Arian Foster.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Texans must make the first priority to stop Maurice Jones-Drew.  That will be easier said than done as the Texans are giving up 4.5 yards per carry this year.  The Texans need to stop the run and force rookie QB Blaine Gabbert to throw the ball.  He likes throwing to WR Jason Hill, so the Texans should give him some special attention.  That would force Gabbert to beat the Texans by throwing the ball to Mike Thomas, Marcedes Lewis and Mike Sims-Walker….and that’s not going to happen.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 27, JAGUARS 13

Andre Johnson is one of the best WRs in the entire NFL.  He has caught 27 passes for 355 yards (13.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year.  But, he is hurt right now and none of the other WRs have really stepped up.  Kevin Walter is a possession type WR who has caught 18 passes for 217 yards (12.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  Jacoby Jones has replaced Johnson in the starting lineup but he’s not doing much.  He has caught 14 passes for 203 yards (14.5 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Derrick Mason has caught 4 passes for 34 yards (8.5 avg) since coming over in the deal with the Jets.  Bryant Johnson has only caught 2 passes for 22 yards (11.0 avg) so far this year.  The Texans really need some of their  WRs to start stepping up to give the offense more balance going forward.

The Texans have re-signed 26-year old safety Quintin Demps.  Demps played in 2 games earlier this year for the Texans and he had 1 tackle.  He has played in 27 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 33 tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Demps also has returned 58 kickoffs for 1,469 yards (25.3 avg) with 1 TD return in his career so far.  This was a solid addition to the Texans as Demps can provide depth in the secondary while also helping out on special teams.

The Houston Texans have released 25-year old WR/PR Trindon Holliday.  Holliday played in 1 game for the Texans this year and he didn’t catch any passes.  He did return 1 punt but he didn’t get any yards.  The Texans aren’t going to miss Holliday at all as he has not shown anything in his time with them.

The Houston Texans will be without starting free safety Danieal Manning for at least the next 4-6 weeks as he has a fractured tibia.  Manning has played in 7 games for the Texans so far this year and he has 32 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Texans really need second year man Troy Nolan to step up while Manning is out of action.  Nolan has played in all 7 games for the Texans so far this year and he has 17 tackles, 1/2 a sack and 3 passes defensed so far this year.

The Houston Texans went into Nashville and they destroyed the Titans on their own field!  Matt Schaub was very effective yesterday as he completed 18 of 23 passes for 296 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Arian Foster was awesome for the Texans in this game!  He carried the ball 25 times for 115 yards (4.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 5 passes for 119 yards (23.8 avg) with 1 TD grab yesterday.  Ben Tate also was very effective on the ground as he rushed for 104 yards on 15 carries (6.9 ypc).  TEs Owen Daniels (4 rec, 71 yards) and Joel Dreessen (2 rec, 31 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Texans.  The Texans finished up with 222 yards rushing on 47 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 23 passes (78.3%) for 296 yards as they had possession of the ball for 37:58.

The defense was electric for the Texans yesterday.  LBs Brian Cushing (6 tackles) and Brooks Reed (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Texans in this game.  DE J.J. Watt (3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and CB Jonathan Joseph (3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 passes defensed) also had solid games for the Texans yesterday.  CB Brice McCain (interception that he returned 38 yards for a TD) and safety Danieal Manning (interception) also made big plays for the Texans in this game.  The Titans finished up with 53 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 31 passes (48.4%) for 95 yards in this game.  The Texans are now back in first place in the AFC South with a 4-3 record.

The Houston Texans have lost 3 of their last four games.  The Titans had a bye week to lick their wounds after the Steelers gave them a beatdown two weeks ago.  This is a HUGE game for both teams as either the Texans or Titans are going to win the AFC South this year as the Jaguars and Colts suck!  That felt good to say!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball:  The Houston Texans are going to try to pass the ball to open up running lanes for Arian Foster.   The O-Line is going to have to give Matt Schaub time to throw the ball, so he can he effective.  Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones are going to be his top targets when he’s looking down the field.  On the short stuff, look for Arian Foster and fullback James Casey to get a lot of work.  Don’t think for a minute though that the Texans aren’t going to run the ball a lot in this game.  Arian Foster is going to get his fair share of touches tomorrow.

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to come out trying to establish the running game with Chris Johnson this Sunday.  Having fullback Ahmard Hall back is going to give the Texans’ D some issues as he loves to blow tacklers up in the running game.  The Texans have 17 sacks already this year but the Titans’ O-Line has only given up 7, so something has to give tomorrow.  If Hasselbeck has time to throw the ball, he’s likely going to make some plays down the field to Nate Washington.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 23, TEXANS 17

2nd year RB Ben Tate missed his whole rookie season due to injury.  He has played in five games so far this year for the Texans and he has carried the ball 77 times for 362 yards (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD grab.  He also has caught 5 passes for 40 yards (8.0 avg) so far this year.  As good as Tate is, the Texans are glad to have Arian Foster back at full speed.  Foster has played in 4 games for the Texans so far this year and he has carried the ball 77 times for 305 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD carry.  He has also caught 16 passes for 186 yards (11.6 avg) as Matt Schaub has been looking for Foster more this year in the passing game due to the injury to Andre Johnson.  #3 RB Derrick Ward has been dinged up most of this year.  He has played in 2 games for the Texans so far this year and he has carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Texans are averaging 126.2 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so far this year, which has been pretty impressive.

The Texans have lost 25-year old backup safety Dominique Barber for the rest of the year as he fractured his Lisfranc bone in his foot last Sunday against the Ravens.  He needs season ending surgery to repair it.  Barber played in all six games for the Texans this year and he had 3 whopping tackles.  Barber has now played in 39 games in his first four years with the Texans and he has 57 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception and 5 passes defensed.  The Texans will miss Barber more on special teams than on defense going forward.