Okay, so Matt Schaub throws for nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns. It's the Texans defense that needs to be discussed. This unit is number one against the run for the last three weeks and all they did Sunday was shut down the NFL's leading rusher. The Bengals scored 17 first half points and were shut out in the second. Houston's 'D' is coming into its own.
Jacques Reeves, Bernard Pollard and Eugene Wilson didn't play against the Jets in Week 1, and Dunta Robinson was barely himself. Now you have a crew that's blossoming and helping stop teams on third down. The Texans don't have a lot of sacks, but they are applying some pressure, which is helping out the back end.
Schaub has arrived as a Top 10 QB. It's not just the TD passes but some of the 10-12 yard throws that are making the difference by extending drives. Houston passed to set up whatever running game it had Sunday, and it worked. Gary Kubiak will never fully abandon the run but he knows he can win on a steady diet of Schaub throws to Houston's talented pass catchers.
This is fun. The last time the Texans were 3-3 was two years ago, and they were 4-3 in 2004. That year they beat Jacksonville on Halloween weekend to fill the fans with hope only to lose the winning record the next week at Denver and not see another one for three more years when they would open the 2007 season with a win over Kansas City. Now they try to grab their first winning record of any kind since they were 3-2 in '07.
A win over the 49ers would put them in the playoff picture, but they must prove they can handle success and put together a string of victories. Everything they dreamed of in 2009 is still out there in front of them. It's time for this team to get in the black in the won-loss column and somehow keep us there for the rest of the season.
