Last year against Denver, Matt Schaub received the game ball from Gary Kubiak after throwing four touchdowns passes in a 31-25 victory for the Texans.
A lot has changed in just one year.
Now with Case Keenum ruled out for Sunday's game due to a thumb injury, Schaub will get another chance to face the Broncos. Schaub, who took first team reps in practice on Wednesday, gets his first start in 10 weeks on Sunday.
"He was no different in practice today than he has been my entire stay and on task in asking questions and helping out," offensive coordinator Rick Dennison said. "Today was no different. He just got a bulk of the reps on offense."
Schaub did play against both Oakland and Jacksonville, in a backup role, but was unable to finish the games with a win. The veteran quarterback hopes to help break the team's 12-game losing streak in the last home game of the 2013 season.
"I'm excited to get back out there with my teammates," Schaub said after Wednesday's practice. "You know, go out there and cut it loose, and end these last two weeks on a good note."
In Week 3 at Denver last season, Schaub completed 17-of-30 passes for 290 yards and interception. Schaub did well with the play action early, according to Dennison. Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Arian Foster, and Owen Daniels all caught touchdown passes. Two of Schaub's scores were from 50-plus yards, a 60-yard pass to Johnson and 52-yarder to Walter.
"We just made some big plays," Schaub said about the win. "We came out throwing. We had some good plays in the running game, but our guys protected against a very good pass rush, and made some big plays. We've got to go find a way to do that again."
