Duane Brown left the field on a cart with 3:03 left in the opening quarter against the Jaguars.
The Pro Bowl left tackle hurt his leg on a run play by Alfred Blue. He was down on the field at NRG Stadium for a few moments before being carted off by the team's medical staff.
"I knew when I tried to get up and walk and it was just dead, so I knew something was wrong, wasn't quite sure what, but yeah," Brown said.
Head coach Bill O'Brien said it's unlikely the Texans will see Brown on the field in the playoffs. He emphasized the veteran's importance to the team, as well.
"Duane Brown is one of the hearts and souls of this team," O'Brien said. "He's one of our leaders. He's been in this organization for a long time. He's experienced the ups and downs. He's a great person and great guy. Hell of a football player. Tough, tough football player. So anytime a guy like that goes down, you don't replace that guy."
Chris Clark came into the game and played left tackle after Brown left because of the injury. For team chairman and CEO Bob McNair, it was tough to see the longest tenured Texan leave because of injury.
"It is a real shame because he has worked so hard and he is one of the real leaders on this team," McNair said. "To have that kind of injury, number one it is an unusual injury as I understand it, and it is just a shame that it happened and that he is not going to be able to enjoy this as a participant on the field."
Brown was the Texans' first round draft pick in 2008. He played his college ball at Virginia Tech.
The best tailgaters in sports had a great morning outside of NRG Stadium.
