Loss number 10 in 2013 won't get a chance to linger in the minds of the Texans. As the first loss of the season at Baltimore ebbed into Seattle and then San Francisco and so on, this one has to be forgotten quickly. After all, Houston's played it's previous 12 contests on a Sunday or Monday. At worst, that meant a five-day turnaround. With the Thursday-nighter at Jacksonville approaching, a three-day break is all the Texans get.
"I think it's good for us," head coach Gary Kubiak said. "We need to go to play. We need to step back out there and go play again."
Left guard Wade Smith echoed Kubiak's sentiments.
"It's very true," Smith said on Monday night after practice. "We haven't had a win around here in so long so we won't be able to dwell on what happened yesterday, because we have another game coming up. All our focus is on beating Jacksonville."
The Texans won on Thanksgiving Day last season at Detroit, pulling out an overtime win over the Lions. That triumph came just four days after an overtime thriller against the Jaguars, when Andre Johnson caught a screen pass and ran 48 yards for the game-winner. While Johnson would prefer more rest, he understands the Thursday contest is something all 32 teams experience.
"I'm not a big fan of that," Johnson said. "But that's the way it is. So you gotta just play it."
The short period in between contests, while taxing physically, is a welcome mental getaway for left tackle Duane Brown.
"That's the best remedy: not being able to sit too long and let everything soak in," Brown said. "Watching television or reading stuff. The best thing is to get back out there and have another crack at it. That's the best thing about this business."
Kubiak pointed out that the upside of playing on Thursday is the "break for a few days" the team gets. The Texans won't play again until December 15 at Indianapolis. A Tuesday practice is scheduled for the middle of the day at the Houston Methodist Training Center, and the team will fly to Jacksonville on Wednesday afternoon.
