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Without Andre Johnson for a good share of the season, the Texans' receivers were exposed in 2011.

While Arian Foster and other non-receivers may have been making plays, the Texans were one of just two teams in the NFL that didn’t have any 30-yard receptions from their receivers on throws that traveled fewer than 15 yards, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

On average, Houston receivers got 3.1 yards after the catch. That ranked 31st in the NFL. But that was offset in a big way by four non-wide receiver pass-catchers.

Foster averaged a league-best 12.0 per catch among players with at least 50 catches. Owen Daniels (5.6), Joel Dreessen (5.5) and Ben Tate (6.2) also did solid work after the catch.

Largely because of those four, the Texans ranked second overall in average YAC per reception, with 6.3 yards. New England was first at 6.5.

A healthy Johnson will help boost the receiver numbers in a big way.

The team’s next two best wideouts are Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones.

Walter (3.5) is not a big YAC guy; he’s a reliable guy who will be in the right spot and do the right things. Jones (4.8) is explosive and should do quite a bit more in this department.

Whether the Texans add a receiver in the first round or wait until later, the guy who’s added to the group needs to be able to take passes from Matt Schaub and get some additional yards.

With free agency slowing down and the draft quickly approaching, Scouts Inc.’s Matt Williamson breaks down the running back situations in the AFC South.

1. Houston Texans: The Texans have the best set of running backs in the NFL in Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Of course, Houston’s scheme and blocking are phenomenal, but these two are outstanding in their own right. Foster in particular would fit any scheme. He has size, excellent vision, patience, explosive traits and can be a physical player with the ability to break off long runs. Foster is also extremely adept in the passing game. He gains separation in his routes, catches the ball cleanly and is also an above-average pass-blocker. Only 25, Foster should have a lot of great production ahead of him. The Texans are banking on it after locking him up with a long-term contract right before free agency began. You could make the argument that Foster is the best running back in football right now, especially when factoring in Adrian Peterson’s injury. Tate averaged a whopping 5.4 yards per carry in his second season. It could be argued that he is the most effective backup running back in the league right now. He is more of a straight-line runner than Foster and doesn’t fit all schemes as well as Foster, but he is perfect for what Houston does with its movement-based zone blocking scheme. Tate is quick to get downhill, decisive and runs with power, yet like Foster, can run away from defenders. Houston is loaded at running back.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars: Maurice Jones-Drew had as good of a season in 2011 as any running back in the NFL -- and every defense Jacksonville faced keyed on stopping him. Averaging 4.7 yards per carry under his circumstances was truly a remarkable performance. Everyone makes note of Jones-Drew’s lack of size when discussing him, but he’s a very powerful runner with exceptional leverage. He might not have quite the same burst and long speed as he once did, but his running skills are as sharp as ever. He has a great history of finding the end zone and is excellent as an outlet receiver. Jones-Drew can also stand up a blitzing linebacker as well as any running back in the league. At just 27, he is on a Hall of Fame career pace. Jones-Drew’s backups are Rashad Jennings and Deji Karim. Jennings missed the entire season, but is a very good running back when right. He runs hard and has light feet for a bigger back. As mentioned above, the circumstances were far from optimal last season, but Karim’s 2.1-yard average was simply abysmal. Karim has the look of a poor man’s Jones-Drew … a very poor man’s.

3. Tennessee Titans: Chris Johnson clearly had an incredibly disappointing 2011 season. He ran with little conviction or competitiveness for much of the season and too often looked to hit the home run instead of grinding out the tough yards. He improved late in the season, though, and there is no question Johnson can remain among the best players at his position. His speed has become legendary. Johnson is also a very good receiver who is lethal in space. I am not suggesting that we will see the back who exceeded 2,000 yards on the ground in 2009, but I am expecting a bounce-back season from Johnson in 2012. The Titans’ run blocking should be better and to me, Johnson is simply a much better player than what he showed on film for much of the season. There are also questions concerning what kind of shape he was in to start 2011. Javon Ringer is Tennessee’s top backup, but Jamie Harper also has ability. Ringer is much more reliable and proven, though. He runs hard with ample degrees of power and acceleration for a backup. Ringer is also an asset as a receiver and continues to improve in this area. Harper has a decent all-around skill set, but his 2.6-yard average last year is inexcusable.

4. Indianapolis Colts: Although Donald Brown has never really lived up to his first-round draft status, he was one of the few bright spots for the Colts last year. His 4.8 yards-per-carry average on the worst team in the league last season does stand out. It was by far Brown’s best season as a pro. As running backs go, I see Brown as a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none in many ways. He doesn’t have a single trait that stands out above all others, but as he showed in 2011, he is quite solid in all areas. Brown also is a decent receiver and a very good pass-blocker. Delone Carter was rather disappointing in all phases of playing the position as a rookie. He is a wide-bodied, shorter back who didn’t show the power you would expect and also wasn’t real light on his feet or agile. I still have hope for Carter, though. As is the case with fellow second-year RB Jamie Harper in Tennessee, a true offseason could do Carter a lot of good. With the gaping holes that Indianapolis has on its roster, running back is not among the top needs. But it is far from a great positional group when comparing it to the rest of the league. Perhaps the Colts will add another runner in the middle rounds of the draft.

Scouts Inc. watches games, breaks down film and studies football from all angles for ESPN.com. Follow Matt Williamson on Twitter @WilliamsonNFL.

» Divisional Final Word: Saints-49ers | Broncos-Patriots | Texans-Ravens | Giants-Packers

Three nuggets of knowledge about Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens:

Defending the middle of the field: Will Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco be able to throw to his favorite area of the field? According to ESPN Stats & Info, Flacco has completed 64.3 percent of his throws inside the numbers this season compared with 51.3 percent outside. The Texans allowed the fewest touchdown passes (three) and lowest completion percentage (56.8) inside the numbers this season. They also grabbed 11 of their 17 interceptions in that territory. Safety play has a huge bearing on these numbers, vast improvements over what the 2010 Texans did. Watch Glover Quin and Danieal Manning patrolling the middle of the field.

Between the tackles: I’m not sure the Texans should spend much time trying to run up the middle. The Ravens prevented the Texans from grinding it out between the tackles in Week 6 when Baltimore won 29-14. The Texans averaged 6.5 yards per rush outside the tackles in the game, but only 2.8 between the tackles. (That number is 4.8 in the rest of their games.) This season, the Ravens have allowed the fewest yards per rush (3.51) between the tackles. The Texans are great at moving laterally, stretching a front out and allowing Arian Foster or Ben Tate to judge where the crease is and go. They’ll need to do that effectively to have a chance in this game.

Breaking down T.J. Yates: Yates joined Flacco and Mark Sanchez as the only rookie quarterbacks since 1966 to not throw an interception in their first playoff game. Yates has benefited greatly from play-action, with 2.7 more yards per attempt and a QBR of 57.2, 13.9 points higher than when the Texans don’t run play-action. On throws that have traveled 15 yards or more in the air, Yates has unsurprisingly fared far better with Andre Johnson as the target. The quarterback is averaging 14.1 yards per such attempt when Johnson is the target, and 9 yards when it’s anyone else.

» Wild-Card Final Word: Bengals-Texans | Lions-Saints | Falcons-Giants | Steelers-Broncos

Three nuggets of knowledge about Saturday's Bengals-Texans wild-card game:

Yards after contact: Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Bengals' defense allowed 2.0 yards per rush before contact this season, the third-lowest average in the league. But Cincinnati is allowing 1.9 yards per rush after contact, seventh worst in the NFL. The Texans led the league with 1,133 yards after contact this season. Ben Tate ran well against the Bengals in the regular-season game (eight carries for 67 yards with a 44-yarder), and quarterback T.J. Yates had a giant 17-yard run on the game-winning drive. Arian Foster had just 41 yards on 15 carries. Given a second chance against Cincy coming off a week’s rest, I think Foster will slip off defenders not just when he’s taking handoffs but also after pulling in receptions.

Hands up: The Texans led the league with 19 passes batted down, largely thanks to their work against Andy Dalton on Dec. 11, when they got their hands on eight. Dalton had the most passes batted or defended this season (79), while the Texans led all defenses with 94 defended passes. The Bengals are likely to call a lot of three-step drop quick throws. Defensive linemen and outside linebackers can’t usually get to the quarterback that quickly. So the next best thing is to pull up and look to get a paw on the ball. Odds are defensive coordinator Wade Phillips finds more ways to fluster Dalton than Dalton finds solutions to what the Texans try to do to him.

No mo: The Texans don’t come into the playoffs with momentum, as they’ve lost three in a row. This season’s Texans and Broncos are the seventh and eighth teams to reach the playoffs after losing their final three games since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Each of the previous three teams to enter the postseason on a losing streak of at least three games won its first playoff game. The 2009 Saints won Super Bowl XIV, the 2001 Raiders advanced to the divisional playoffs and the 2000 Vikings made it to the NFC Championship Game.

HOUSTON -- A couple halftime thoughts from Reliant Stadium, where the Titans lead the Texans 13-10.

• The Titans smartly came out with something different, using shotgun with an empty backfield. They had great success with it early, but seemed to sag when it didn’t lead to a touchdown drive right out of the gate. An injury to receiver Damian Williams that’s knocked him from the game may force them to use it less than they’d like the rest of the way.
• Houston’s front is great. The Texans swarmed against a good pass-protecting offensive line and produced two Antonio Smith sacks of Matt Hasselbeck. The linemen and linebackers just come from a different spot on every play. I think that pass rush is going to key them in the playoffs.
• Jake Delhomme got away with a very bad throw late in the second quarter. Cornerback Jason McCourty would have probably gone for a touchdown if he didn’t flub the pass like a man who had casts on two broken hands.
• Receiver Donnie Avery benefitted from Williams’ injury and caught the Titans' touchdown on a smartly designed play. Tennessee bunched three receivers right, then had Hasselbeck throw to Avery against Jason Allen on the left from the 1-yard line. It was Avery's first catch of the year.
• The Texans should pound it with running backs Ben Tate and Derrick Ward in the second half. I think they can break the Titans' defense that way, and that the Titans could be frustrated they aren’t having an easier time considering Houston didn’t dress Arian Foster, Johnathan Joseph or Owen Daniels.
• I thought rules dictated teams announce in-game injuries. But the Texans have not said what prompted T.J. Yates’ trip to the locker room and exit from the game. And the Titans took a long, long time before finally revealing at the half that Williams has a rib injury and his return is questionable.

HOUSTON -- Locked in as the AFC South’s No. 3 seed, the Texans are looking to regain some momentum.

But they are also playing it safe. While Andre Johnson returns from a hamstring injury and will get some work, Pro Bowlers Arian Foster and Johnathan Joseph are getting the day off, as is tight end Owen Daniels.

Ben Tate will start for Foster at running back, Jason Allen will start for Joseph at corner, and Joel Dreessen will start at tight end for Daniels.

The game has far more meaning for Tennessee, which needs a win and several other results to earn the No. 6 seed. If they get it, they’d return to Reliant Stadium for a rematch next week.

Tennessee is without defensive end Jason Jones, who's out with an ankle injury.

The full inactive lists:

Titans:

• QB Rusty Smith
• FB Quinn Johnson
• LB Gerald McRath
• C Kevin Matthews
• T Byron Stingily
• DE Jason Jones
• DT Shaun Smith

Texans:

• QB Jeff Garcia
• CB Sherrick McManis
• RB Arian Foster
• CB Johnathan Joseph
• S Troy Nolan
• G Mike Brisiel
• TE Owen Daniels

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 17:

Pressure tells the story: The Houston Texans sack or put quarterbacks under duress 28.0 percent of the time, the highest rate in the NFL. No one has a front that swarms as consistently as Houston's. The Tennessee Titans are recording a sack or putting quarterbacks under duress on 18.4 percent of opponent dropbacks this season, the second-lowest rate in the NFL. If Matt Hasselbeck is under constant pressure and T.J. Yates isn’t, this game will lean toward the Texans despite the fact that Tennessee has much more at stake.

Big milestones in range: Maurice Jones-Drew has a 128-yard lead on the rushing title heading into the day, but the Jacksonville Jaguars would surely like to guarantee that the running back secures the honor. He will be just the sixth back since 1970 to lead the league in rushing on a team with five wins or fewer and the fifth to lead the league in rushing on the NFL’s worst passing team. Tennessee receiver Nate Washington is 69 yards from a 1,000-yard season, which would be a giant accomplishment on this Titans team. Ben Tate could see a good share of carries against the Titans, but the 155 rushing yards needed to get him to 1,000 for the season is probably too much to expect.

Hands in the air: Houston is very good at batting balls down near the line of scrimmage. ESPN Stats & Info says the Texans have batted down a league-high 19 passes at the line of scrimmage this season. No other team has more than 14 (Miami Dolphins). Hasselbeck is susceptible to linemen getting their paws on his throws. He has had 13 passes batted down this season, tied with the New York Jets' Mark Sanchez for the most in the NFL. Hasselbeck had his worst game of the season in the Oct. 23 loss to the Texans. To win this one, the Titans are going to need a good passing day. Hasselbeck needs 226 passing yards to become just the second Oilers/Titans quarterback to throw for 3,500 yards in a season, joining Hall of Famer Warren Moon. Moon did it in 1989, 1990 and 1991.

Open it up: The Jaguars don’t have the pass protection or the weapons to create a lot of big plays down the field. The Indianapolis Colts have gotten far better defense as they’ve won two straight, but they still have unproven guys in the secondary. With nothing to lose, the Jaguars should not try to play it safe with short passes -- look what that did for the Titans and Texans the past two weeks against Indianapolis. When they are not handing the ball to MJD, the Jaguars should chip Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis as needed and tell Blaine Gabbert to test the pass coverage deep. I’ve written they should go crazy a few times this season. In the last game for this coaching staff, why not take chances?

Also: Despite being inactive for two games and sidelined for much of another, Arian Foster has rushed for at least 100 yards in a league-high seven games. Since the start of the 2010 season, Foster leads the league in rush yards (2,840), rush touchdowns (26) and first downs (147). ... Only the New York Giants' Jake Ballard (15.9) has a higher yards per catch average than Jared Cook (15.5) among tight ends with significant action. … Gabbert had been sacked 37 times (tied for third-most in the NFL) and has the lowest passer rating (64.3) and QBR (21.3) among quarterbacks who have had significant playing time this season.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 15:

Blitzing Cam Newton: The Texans have thrived when sending five or more pass-rushers. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Houston blitzes on 52.1 percent of dropbacks, second only to New Orleans. The Texans allow a 48.2 completion percentage, only 5.5 yards per attempt, and have recorded 20 of their 24 sacks in those situations. Newton has thrown seven touchdowns and three interceptions in such circumstances. But he’s also taken 18 sacks, as many as any quarterback in the NFL. Linebacker coach Reggie Herring will work as the defensive coordinator with Wade Phillips recovering from kidney and gallbladder surgery. But Phillips drew up the plan, and the Texans should be doing what they've been doing.

Rematch: The Titans beat the Colts in the first matchup 27-10 on Oct. 30 in Nashville. Nate Washington caught two touchdown passes and Patrick Bailey blocked a punt that Jason McCourty recovered for a score. Curtis Painter attempted 49 passes in that game. I think the Titans would be thrilled if Dan Orlovsky dropped back anywhere near that often, as he’s mistake-prone, and the more Indianapolis has to rely on him the better the chance at interceptions, sacks and fumbles. Defensive end Dave Ball and tackle Karl Klug could be primed to force a turnover or two. Tennessee has not swept the Colts since 2002, the first year of realignment.

Serious scoring defense: During their seven-game winning streak the Texans have allowed fewer than 20 points a game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last team with such a streak was the 2005 Bears, who held eight consecutive opponents under 20 points during an eight-game win streak. Carolina has topped 20 points in 10 of its 13 games, and has averaged nearly 31 points a game over its past four.

Rest and recovery: There is not a lot that can happen for the Jaguars to change things in their last two games. But they’ve got a weekend off now after Thursday night’s beatdown in Atlanta. They finish with division games at Tennessee and against Indianapolis. So we’ll see how Mel Tucker can get a battered team ready for familiar opponents and if the Jaguars are able to get Maurice Jones-Drew the yards he needs to secure a rushing title.

Tidbits: Since Washington became a regular in 2006, his 14.9 yards per catch is the seventh-highest average in the NFL. … Arian Foster is 43 yards shy of 1,000 yards rushing, and Ben Tate is 180 yards shy of 1,000. When they both get there, they’ll become just the seventh set of teammates to hit the mark in the same season. … Texans receivers have dropped 11 passes, tied with Minnesota for fewest in the NFL this season. … Newton’s 39.2 red zone completion percentage is the third-worst in the league.

At the core of the Houston Texans’ steady, methodical play this season in the face of a ridiculous injury list has been the offensive line.

Right tackle Eric Winston is a talker with a profile, but the rest of the group seems to revel in a degree of obscurity, no one more than center Chris Myers.

“I think he goes unnoticed for the kind of player he is,” Titans coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Mike Munchak said. “He understands the system, understands what he’s supposed to do and he goes out and does it. It’s not about how big and tall he is or what his measurables are. He’s efficient, and he’s successful the way he does his job.”

Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. says Myers is the second-best center in the NFL this season, behind only Nick Mangold of the Jets.

“Myers is a great technician,” Williamson said. “He’s got great movement skills. He plays the game with excellent leverage. He’s the linchpin of the best offensive line in the NFL.”

Myers was pleased to learn of Munchak’s compliment, but he clearly isn’t concerned with what people outside of team headquarters think of him, the line or the Texans.

In that regard, he’s an old-school offensive lineman. He trained under five-time Pro Bowler Tom Nalen in Denver and is perfectly happy operating quietly in the background, allowing his play to do most of his talking and pleased if his running back is getting attention.

“It just comes with the territory of being an offensive lineman,” he said. “When you get to the higher level, once you become successful in the league you learn those accolades will come when warranted.”

They should be warranted this season, with the Texans winning the AFC South despite a slew of injuries to key players.

Myers was originally a sixth-round pick by Denver in 2005, 200th overall out of Miami. He spent the first month of his first season on the practice squad, then backed up Nalen and played special teams.

The Texans traded a sixth-round pick in 2007 to get Myers after coach Gary Kubiak and general manager Rick Smith moved to Houston from jobs with the Broncos. Myers became a torch-bearer for both the sort of locker room culture and offensive line scheme the Texans wanted to establish. Houston has started him in every game.

There is less noise than there used to be about the Texans' zone-blocking scheme, a philosophy that features backside cuts that put defensive linemen on the ground. A lot of defenders hate it, and many say it puts their knees at risk. But it’s a legal technique that plenty of teams use, just not, perhaps, with the regularity and proficiency of the Texans.

It’s a scheme that serves to spring one-cut-and-go backs Arian Foster and Ben Tate, and syncs up perfectly with the Texans’ play-action and bootleg passing attack.

“You put them all together and they are pretty darn good at what they do,” Munchak said. “The five of them together, they’ve got it going. They’ve been doing the same thing now since [offensive line coach Alex] Gibbs went in there [in 2008]. They kept the same concept, they stuck with the same system and they’ve gotten good at it.”

There is a psychological aspect to the scheme as well.

“I can’t lie, it definitely plays into the defense’s mind,” Myers said. “When you’re pounding and pounding on guys throughout the game and you keep cutting them on the backside, they can play the cuts for a long time, but at a certain point either they are going to forget about it or get tired of having to play off of it. Once you kind of grind on them, it ends up playing out in the fourth quarter.”

Left tackle Duane Brown, left guard Wade Smith, Myers, right guard Mike Brisiel and Winston make up what has been one of the league’s best and most reliable lines this season. Brisiel just finished playing in the win at Cincinnati on a broken leg and had surgery, so Antoine Caldwell will step in for a stretch.

When the line and offense are playing well, the Texans’ attack can be a beautiful operation.

“So much about the way we run the ball is tied to coordination, there is a real rhythm to this offense,” Smith said.

“To the degree that you can get five guys and in a lot of cases six guys with the tight end and then seven with the fullback on the same page and execute that coordinated effort, that’s where you start to get the big runs and the cutbacks and you start to see the success in the system. They’ve got that coordination, they’ve got that rhythm together, and I think that’s why you see us running the ball effectively.”

As the Texans make their first venture into the playoffs, there will be talk of the line’s solid play, but far more focus on the league’s top defense, Foster, receiver Andre Johnson and rookie quarterback T.J. Yates.

Myers will have a great vantage point on it all, watching and working.

“Obviously his position is a natural position of leadership on the line,” Smith said. “He’s done a nice job of keeping our guys coordinated and he’s playing at a high level at this point.

“More often than not it’s a position where people don’t talk a lot, so maybe people don’t recognize how important or how strong a leadership position the offensive line commands within a team, but it’s significantly important. That’s where games are won and lost, up front.”

Lots of AFC South-related stuff on our fine web site today.

Let me point it you to it.

NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas writes his weekly league-wide Quarterback Watch on Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. He hits on an important point:

“The thing we, as a society, tend to forget is that you don’t get to be an NFL quarterback without being extremely competitive and at least a little selfish. Manning wasn’t put on this earth to be a glorified quarterbacks coach. If he comes back to the Colts, he’s coming back as the starter, not a mentor.”

Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. leads his weekly Rookie Watch with the Titans’ first-year defenders.

“(Defensive tackle Jurrell) Casey made an immediate impact as an active run defender. A stout presence on the inside, Casey isn't just a stay-at-home plugger. Instead, Casey shows initial quickness and very good movement skills for his size.”

Greg Garber of ESPN.com looks at how the Texans' next-man-up approach has built their big season.

"(Guard Mike) Brisiel broke his leg in the first half of the game in Cincinnati. In the true spirit of these Texans, he played the entire second half."

ESPN.com Insider's KC Joyner writes that the Houston Texans have showed great resiliency overcoming a multitude of injuries, and now Houston has a chance to ride Arian Foster, Ben Tate and an exceptional defense deep into the playoffs .

“The strongest link in the Texans' pass coverage is Johnathan Joseph. He was usually perceived as the weaker link in the Cincinnati Bengals' secondary, but as noted in a July Insider article about NFL free agency, during the past two years Joseph had coverage numbers that were actually better than Nnamdi Asomugha's. Joseph's 6.1 YPA this season is even better than his composite YPA during the past two years, and thus it could be said that he was the best free-agent acquisition this past offseason.”

Thoughts on the Texans’ 20-19 win over the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium:

What it means: The first division title, the first playoff berth and the first home playoff game for a franchise that debuted in 2002. It also should mean long-term job security for Gary Kubiak and his staff. A team that’s shown great resilience all season long fought back and won on the final play from scrimmage, as rookie quarterback T.J. Yates hit Kevin Walter over the middle for a touchdown with two seconds left. That got the Texans to 10-3. They had to wait a little while, until Jake Locker was sacked on the last play of the game between the Titans and Saints, to know Tennessee lost and the division crown belonged to Houston.

What I liked: Yates threw a bad pick to Reggie Nelson. Yates, Ben Tate and Arian Foster each lost a fumble. And the Texans gave up a 14-yard gain on a third-and-15 shovel pass (although the Bengals then false-started on the fourth down). The Texans were down nine points in the third quarter. But even after all that, as has become their MO, there was no panic. They got a giant forced fumble from Connor Barwin that was recovered by Brooks Reed, a fantastic 17-yard run from Yates on a third-and-15 and a favorable pass interference call against Adam Jones during the comeback.

Rookie quarterback watch: The Texans said they wouldn’t be scaling back for Yates, and they didn’t -- he threw 44 passes, connecting on 26 for 300 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Yates got the win and posted an 85.4 passer rating, outperforming Cincinnati’s rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, who’s been a starter since the season began and had 189 yards and one TD. Yates absorbed five sacks along the way and was helped by 144 rushing yards.

What I want to know: What exactly Kubiak told this team after clinching the division and how he intends to pull everyone back to Earth after 24 hours pass.

What’s next: The Texans host the Carolina Panthers at Reliant Stadium on Sunday, then have a quick turnaround for a game against the Colts in Indianapolis on Thursday Night Football Dec. 22.

» NFC Stock Watch: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

FALLING

1. The Jaguars’ ability to score points: OK, it’s not fair to say it's falling. It’s been poor all season and showed no sign of improving. The Jaguars came back from a 10-0 deficit against San Diego on Monday night to take a 14-10 lead. But once San Diego got more than 20 points, the game was over –- the Jaguars haven’t scored 21 points all season. And the Chargers had more than 30 before the fourth quarter started on their way to a 38-14 victory. With Blaine Gabbert quarterbacking and Maurice Jones-Drew as the offensive centerpiece, this isn’t a team that can make much of a charge from behind.

2. The luck of Andre Johnson, Houston Texans receiver: For the second time this season, Johnson went down while running without taking any contact, victim of a hamstring injury. Last time cost him six games. This time it’s the other leg and doesn’t appear nearly as serious. Although the Texans are calling him day-to-day, they could again be without their top weapon in the passing game. Absent Johnson, teams can load up to stop Arian Foster and Ben Tate, taking their chances against rookie quarterback T.J. Yates as he looks to less-threatening downfield weapons.

3. Offensive line play in Indianapolis: The offensive line has actually played better much of this season than we could have reasonably expected, especially once the injuries started to pile up. Now it’s struggling with penalties and giving up sacks. In New England, the line accounted for four of the Colts’ five penalties with false starts and holding. With the minimal margin for error, the Colts simply can’t afford that. A hold that might save a hit is one thing, but a false start is the sort of undisciplined stuff that gets bad teams killed.

RISING

1. Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans coach: He gave credit to offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp for a sleepless week working to get Yates ready and teach two new backups the system. But Kubiak calls the Texans' plays, and Yates made a solid showing in his first NFL start. Jim Harbaugh might run away with coach-of-the-year honors for his work turning San Francisco around, but that seems only slightly more improbable to me than what Houston’s doing considering its injuries. While defensive coordinator Wade Phillips gets a lot of credit for the transformation, here’s a small bid for giving Kubiak his fair share.

2. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans running back: He’s here a second week in a row after a second big game in a row, and this one came after he lost weight because he was so sick in the days leading up to the team’s trip to Buffalo. The Titans have waited and waited, and Johnson finally looks like he’s back to the form that earned him a giant contract after his holdout this summer. To make a push for a wild-card spot out of a division the Texans are very likely to win, the Titans will need more big contributions and explosive plays from Johnson. Everyone was getting blame when it was bad, as coach Mike Munchak pointed out, everyone should get some of the credit now.

3. Taylor Price, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver: A third-round choice by the Patriots in 2010 out of Ohio University, he didn’t make a mark with receiver-needy New England. But the Jaguars are even more receiver-needy. They got him Monday with a waiver claim, and even if Price does nothing in the remainder of the season, he’s a good piece to add to the mix for the upcoming offseason. The 90th overall pick by a team that drafts well is definitely worth a look, and even if the team really addresses the position in free agency and the draft, Price could have an opportunity to stick in Jacksonville.

HOUSTON -- When Gary Kubiak issued his weekly quarterback quiz on Saturday night, T.J. Yates gave a gold-star performance.

After which the excited proctor shared details with the full class room.

“When I tested him I was so impressed and I went in there and told the whole team, ‘I wish you could have been in there, he’s ready to play,’” Kubiak said.

"If anybody was skeptical,” right tackle Eric Winston said, "that stopped it right there.”

The prepared rookie third-string quarterback helped propel Houston to a 17-10 win against Atlanta, a team that came to Reliant Stadium with wins in five of its past six games.

The quarterbacks have changed, from Matt Schaub to Matt Leinart to Yates, but the Texans' results have stayed the same. The win was their sixth in a row and kept them entrenched as the favorite to win the AFC South and in line to capture one of the conference’s top seeds.

“It’s three weeks, it’s three different quarterbacks,” Kubiak said. “But it’s the same team.”

Beyond the nice quarterback play, that team showed a piece of just about every element you want as you head toward the playoffs: An ability to grind out rushing yards, mental and physical toughness, a swarming pass rush that made a good quarterback uncomfortable, resiliency following tough moments (and injuries) and a propensity for finding enough plays on both sides of the ball.

“That’s by far, here of late, the best team that we’ve played,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said.

Yates threw for 188 yards and a touchdown, posting an 86.8 passer rating and displaying calm, moxie and mobility. I asked him about where the cool composure comes from, and he said it’s not so much a football things as just his personality extending into the game. He’s not particularly excitable, but that doesn’t mean he can’t send a big message.

Not long after Andre Johnson dropped a great pass, Yates went back to the well-covered star, who muscled a 50-yard reception away from the defender. When John Abraham flew past Winston and buried Yates with a quick, hard sack, the quarterback bounced up quickly to make it clear he wasn’t hurt and wasn't going to flinch.

For all the home team’s good work, the Falcons pulled even at 10-10 late in the third quarter and it looked like the game might turn their direction. But the Texans responded with a massive drive: 19 plays that covered 85 yards, ate up 10 minutes and 41 seconds, and provided the winning margin.

Kubiak called for an Arian Foster run on a fourth-and-1 from the Atlanta 9-yard line, reasoning he had just the right play and it was going to take more than a field goal to win. Foster gained 7, and was in the end zone two plays later.

That drive’s big plays were a 13-yard run by Ben Tate, a 12-yard run by Foster and a 12-yard catch by Kevin Walter.

“The offensive line did a good job to allow us to keep pounding them and pounding them,” Tate said. “In games like this, you know the other team will stay stout -- second quarter, still stout, third quarter [still stout]. At the end we saw a little wearing down. By the end we knew it was a matter of time before we could break the big runs off.”

The defense then made two very solid stands after the Falcons advanced as far as the Houston 20-yard line on the first foray and the 25 on the second.

“The pressure was on our team in the fourth quarter and they came through,” Houston defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said.

At 9-3 three-quarters of the way through the season, the Texans are a win away from the highest win total in franchise history and seem destined for the city’s first NFL playoff berth since the Oilers were in the 1993 postseason.

Several players admitted that -- new starting quarterback or not -- they felt disrespected by being cast as underdogs for this game.

“I thought it was a little bit ridiculous, but you know, Vegas does their thing and we do our thing,” Winston said. “The skepticism that was going around the city? I guess a people that aren’t close to football and hear 'third-string quarterback' and know a lot of teams can’t win with their second-string quarterback right now.”

In previous seasons when they felt like they had a playoff team, the Texans might have looked too far ahead at the win total it would take to get there and not have been able to handle biting off such a big chunk.

Now expectations are all about more sensible portions. They’ve got a cliche that works for them -- they just try to go 1-0 each week -- and focus exclusively on more immediate goals.

“For the first time since I’ve been here, we’re not trying to win five games in one week,” Winston said.

Then he shushed playoff talk.

“Don’t say it,” he said. “It’s like a no-hitter, don’t even talk about it. We’re not even going to talk about until it happens. Then you can douse me in Gatorade if you want.”

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 13:

Keep away: The Bills are an excellent turnover team -- they’ve gotten 16 picks and recovered six fumbles this season. And they make a habit out of turning turnovers into points. Matt Hasselbeck has had a lot of balls tipped at the line this season, and those are the kinds of passes that can turn into big plays. Although the Titans won’t want Hasselbeck to be overly cautious a week after surviving four giveaways in a win over Tampa Bay, they won’t get away with a similar performance.

Run-stoppers: Although the Texans will ask T.J. Yates to make some throws to keep the Falcons honest, they will want to base their offense on handoffs to Arian Foster and Ben Tate. The Falcons' rush defense, however, ranks second in rushing yards allowed per game at 83.5. They have not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Jonathan Stewart had 133 for the Panthers in Week 14 of last season. That’s 14 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.

Outscored: The Colts are the eighth team to start the season 0-11 since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Should the Colts lose in New England, they would become the sixth team to start 0-12. The 1986 Colts lost their first 12 and still wound up with three wins. These Colts have been outscored by 177 points. The only team to get outscored by more points in its first 11 games over the last 30 years was the 2008 Rams. Will Mike Murphy make much of a difference as the new coordinator of Indianapolis’ besieged defense? How will Indy look to defend the very dangerous tight end Rob Gronkowski? To have any chance of staying close, they'll need to find a way to slow him.

Tough sell: The combined win percentage of the Chargers and Jaguars entering this game is .318 (7-15). According to Elias, it’s the worst combined win percentage for two teams entering a "Monday Night Football" game this late in a season since the Ravens (4-9) and Packers (3-10) met in Week 15 of 2005. So it’s not a game with playoff implications. But two bad teams could be evenly matched and provide a close game. Jacksonville’s got some new life with a coaching change, and San Diego is still dealing with the pressure on Norv Turner, who appears destined to be fired. After a week of huge change, the Jaguars really need to come out riled up and start big.

Bonus nuggets: San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers has thrown 10 interceptions this season as a result of an over- or underthrown pass, the most off-target interceptions in the NFL. Jacksonville’s inexperienced corners, Will Middleton and Ashton Youboty could benefit from that. … Yates is the fifth quarterback in the last 25 years to take over a team on a winning streak of five games or more. Caleb Hanie lost for the Bears last year, Bill Musgrave lost for the Broncos in 1996, Jason Garrett won for Dallas in 1993 and Doug Flutie won for Chicago in 1986. … With a win Sunday against the Colts, Tom Brady would break a tie with Johnny Unitas and move into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time regular-season wins list by a starting quarterback with 120.

The presumption is doom.

No team with a third-string quarterback at the helm, a rookie, no less, is going anywhere.

But T.J. Yates and the Houston Texans will set about trying to disprove that theory starting Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons at Reliant Stadium

The Texans have lost Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart for the season in consecutive games. Now a team with the NFL’s top defense and third-ranked rush offense moves forward with Yates.

In a year when Cam Newton, Andy Dalton and Christian Ponder have played well as full-time rookies and Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker were top draft picks, Yates was the eighth quarterback selected and the 152nd player drafted.

He worked as the third quarterback until Schaub’s injury, not dressing for games and running the scout team in practices.

Plugging him in as the lead guy is hardly something the Texans envisioned, and hardly the sort of thing seen around the league.

One team that experienced similar circumstances was the 1979 Los Angeles Rams.

After losing Pat Haden to injury in Week 10 that season and then getting an ineffective start from Jeff Rutledge in a Week 11 loss tot the Chicago Bears, the Rams turned over the starting job to Vince Ferragamo, then a third-year pro who had never started an NFL game before.

Ferragamo posted a 4-1 record over the remainder of the regular season as the Rams won the NFC West. They then beat the Cowboys in Dallas and the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay in the NFC playoffs before they fell to the Steelers, 31-19, in Super Bowl XIV.

Someone asked Yates, who was born in 1987, if he knew who Ferragamo was. He said no. Relayed Ferragamo's story, he said simply, "sweet."

Can Yates do anything similar?

Schaub thinks the rookie is equipped to succeed.

“The one thing that I’ve observed, I’ve been in this type of offense now … all the way back into my college days. T.J., for being a rookie, he’s probably picked this offense up to the point where he can function in it well, faster than anyone I’ve seen, including myself, including a lot of players that I’ve been around,” Schaub told KILT radio in Houston this week. “That’s a big credit to him, because this is not an easy offense to pick up. … I, personally, have a ton of confidence that he’s going to go in there and play very well.”

It’s not just the understanding, though. Right tackle Eric Winston said Yates is the most athletic of the Texans’ top three quarterbacks. Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. likes Yates’ arm: “He throws the ball quite well and should be able to get the ball to where it needs to be.” And everyone is talking about the youngester's calm, a key quarterback quality.

The Texans regard themselves as having supreme resolve, and they should. Their top players on offense have missed time -- receiver Andre Johnson was out six games with a hamstring injury and running back Arian Foster missed two and hardly played in one with a hamstring injury -- and outside linebacker Mario Williams was lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle suffered Oct. 19 against Oakland.

Kansas City probably didn’t come into the season with as much talent as the Texans. But the Chiefs won their division and appeared in the playoffs last season. This season they’ve lost safety Eric Berry, tight end Tony Moeaki, running back Jamaal Charles and quarterback Matt Cassel for the season along the way in their follow-up year.

They are 4-7, tied with San Diego at the bottom of the AFC West.

Houston’s had far better results overcoming injuries.

The mantra is how it’s about the team.

“They know how big the challenge is this weekend, but [they are a] very upbeat group, very positive group,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “… It’s a new world for [Yates]. Last week, he’s getting more reps because he’s the backup. All of a sudden, he’s running the team [Wednesday] and got a lot on his plate, mentally from leaving the classroom to coming out here, but he did fine. He’ll get better every day out here, and that’s the most important thing. The key is everybody else making sure they do their job.”

Said Yates: “Everybody around me is very confident. You can tell this team hasn’t really skipped a beat as far as intensity or tempo at practice. Nothing seems different except for it’s just a different guy at quarterback.”

Atlanta is the toughest team the Texans will have faced in some time. It’s a game they could have lost even with Schaub healthy. If they lose it with Yates it will hardly be a season-killer.

They simply need to see he can manage the game, maintain the calm they’ve lauded, and can make enough throws to make a defense either stay honest or pay the price for loading up the box with an eighth defender to slow Foster and Ben Tate.

If Yates does that, he can be enough.

If he does that, the Texans will have a chance to make us talk more about how he and the Texans can compare to Ferragamo and those Rams.