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Matt Schaub’s going to play Sunday in Tennessee, but he’s unlikely to practice on Wednesday.

Coach Gary Kubiak said Monday his quarterback is banged up and needs some rest. Schaub’s got hip and chest issues.

“He took a good shot one play right in his hip and then another play took a pretty good shot from the big guy (Ravens nose tackle Haloti Ngata) right in the chest,” Kubiak said. “He’s just very beat up right now. But like I said, he went out to practice and did what he would normally do on a Monday…”

“He’ll be day-to-day. I’ll probably give him a rest Wednesday like I did last week, but all indications are that he’ll be OK.”

The Texans have four more games before their bye.

One thing that would certainly help Schaub feel better is the return of receiver Andre Johnson. He’s missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. The initial prognosis was that he would miss three.

Kubiak made a Johnson return for Sunday’s big AFC South game against the Titans in Nashville sound unlikely.

“He made a lot of improvement last week,” Kubiak said. “Had a long talk with him Saturday night at the hotel. He was feeling very, very good. We’ll increase his work. I have a hard time saying right now. Maybe there’s a chance he sees the practice field before the end of the week, so I guess if that’s the case, there’s always a chance, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Matt Schaub of the Texans had the best game of AFC South quarterbacks Sunday when measured by the NFL’s passer rating. But according to the alternate metric, QBR, Indianapolis’ Curtis Painter had a better day.

Comparing QBR with passer rating for AFC South quarterbacks from Sunday:


Passer rating maxes out at 158.3; QBR goes to 100.

For a game, QBR can be interpreted as a percentile, so a score of 80 means a QB’s performance was better than 80 percent of all QB games. It takes a lot more elements into account.

The Colts allowed the fifth best quarterbacking game of the day by QBR. Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton posted an 88.8 (and a 111.5 passer rating). Baltimore’s Joe Flacco was also good, with a 74.5 QBR (eighth) against the Texans to go with a 78.5 passer rating. Against Jacksonville, Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers had just a 49.5 QBR but a 96.3 passer rating.

Here’s a rundown of the whole league.

BALTIMORE -- Just like last year, the Ravens have rolled out to a 4-1 start. But let's make it clear: This Baltimore team isn't like the one last year.

The 2011 Ravens are aggressive. They're fearless. And, as linebacker Ray Lewis puts it, they're ticked off.

Baltimore's 29-14 victory over the Houston Texans is further evidence that the Ravens have found that second-half knockout blow. The Ravens just don't beat teams this year. They finish them.

Joe Flacco was in attack mode, constantly looking to hit the deep throw. Ray Rice broke tackles and made the Texans look tired. And the defense dug in for the fourth quarter, shutting out Houston for the final 22 1/2 minutes.

"To have to come out and really win the fourth quarter in that kind of fashion is a huge statement," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said.

The Ravens have done this all season, outscoring teams 26-6 in the fourth quarter. It's a major turnaround from last year, when that was the soft spot for Harbaugh's team.

A year ago, Baltimore surrendered nine leads in the fourth quarter, including three that were double-digit ones. The Ravens allowed 119 points in the final quarter last season, the second-most in team history.

The reason why the Ravens struggled to finish off teams in 2010 was their conservative style. The offense went into a shut-down mode, and the defense went into a prevent one.

No one can describe the Ravens as going into cruise control. After Baltimore fell behind 14-13 midway through the third quarter, Flacco found rookie Torrey Smith for passes of 19 and 51 yards on back-to-back plays. That led to a Billy Cundiff 25-yard field goal, putting the Ravens back up 16-14.

The Ravens could've played it safe after turning the ball over twice already (Flacco had a fumble and interception), but they didn't. The next time the offense got onto the field, Flacco's first pass was a perfectly thrown 56-yard pass that went beyond the reach of cornerback Johnathan Joseph and into the hands of Anquan Boldin. That turned into another field goal as the Ravens extended the margin to 19-14 early in the fourth quarter.

None of the Ravens would say it, but Baltimore didn't take those shots last year. It wasn't easy to call them in this game, either. Flacco took some staggering hits and the deep throws only exposed him more. He had to look at the stadium's video screen to see if he completed the long pass to Boldin because the Texans had dropped him to the ground.

Still, there's no reward without a little risk, right?

"We're not trying to hang on to win games," Flacco said. "We're going after it. We're saying: 'This is how we're going to win football games.' We're going to continue to attack teams and try to put points on the board to make it not a close game. I think at times, we can rely on our defense a little bit and try to let them close out games. I think the main thing to do in this league is put teams away when you can. That has to be done offensively. So, that's where our mindset is."

The change in the way the Ravens finish games comes from the fact that the Ravens are willing to change.

On the final play of the third quarter, Rice was stopped for a 5-yard loss on first-and-goal from the 10-yard line. Rice went to running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery and asked to switch the outside runs to more inside ones. They both talked to offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who altered the running strategy in the fourth quarter.

After managing 39 yards through the first three quarters, Rice produced 62 yards in the last one on eight carries (7.8 yards per attempt). His 27-yard run in the fourth quarter set up the clinching touchdown.

"There were times when we could have blinked," said Rice, who finished with 101 yards rushing and 60 yards receiving. "We are poised, and the difference is you have guys growing up."

In the press conference to introduce Chuck Pagano as defensive coordinator, he was asked what he needed to do to make this a Super Bowl defense. His response was improve during "crunch time."

The Texans moved the ball up and down the field on the Ravens in the first half, converting five of 10 third-down chances. In the second half, when it became "crunch time," Baltimore stopped Houston on five of six third downs.

The Ravens made some subtle changes on their blitzes and coverages when it became apparent that Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was going with quick-hitting passes.

"It was a little frustrating but nobody said things," linebacker Jarret Johnson said. "In my opinion, the quality of a good coordinator is his halftime adjustments. Chuck came in and we narrowed it down. So, Chuck did a good job with our second-half adjustments and it paid off."

How much did it pay off? The Ravens' defense held Houston to 21 total yards on the final three possessions.

Baltimore's drive to put away teams is the result of what happened the last time the Ravens saw the Texans. Last December, the Ravens allowed Houston to score the final 21 points in regulation to send the game into overtime. Baltimore eventually won, but the lesson wasn't lost.

Ray Lewis said the players didn't review the game tape of that game because "it was just a lot of things that we didn't like seeing on film."

Said Lewis: "We took it personal coming out this week."

This wasn't as easy of a victory as many expected. The Texans were without their top two players in wide receiver Andre Johnson and linebacker Mario Williams.

But in some ways, the Ravens enjoyed the sweat. It was the second time they trailed in the second half this season and the first at home.

"This is the kind of game that we needed," Rice said. "We needed to be in a good fight against a good team."

It's these types of games where the Ravens can find their knockout punch.

BALTIMORE -- How many of these games can we watch unfold, predict how they will unravel, and already know what the players will say?

As the Baltimore Ravens ran their 4-minute offense through Ray Rice and got a touchdown to pull away from the Texans in the fourth quarter, anyone who watches the Texans on a regular basis was thinking something similar. They had to be. Or maybe some have grown numb to it by now.

It’s as difficult for the players to say the same sound bytes as it is for the fans to swallow them. Sunday’s 29-14 loss didn’t make any of it less old, less stale, less predictable or less maddening.

“We feel we are a playoff-caliber team, we deserve to be one,” receiver Kevin Walter said. “We go out there and have a hell of a week and practice, but that doesn’t matter. You’ve got to get it done on Sunday, especially against a team like this.

“Baltimore’s been there, every year. They are always in the playoffs. We did it once this year [at home] against Pittsburgh. But we’ve got to go on the road in a tough environment like this and get it done.”

Even after they didn’t, look at the AFC South. The teams are 0-7 over the last two weeks. Houston is 3-3 heading for Nashville and a matchup with the 3-2 Titans. If they don’t get receiver Andre Johnson back for that game, they should get him back a week later. Meanwhile, Jacksonville (1-5) and Indianapolis (0-6) have not won a game between them since opening day.

The Texans have two games with the Titans left on their schedule. Three other games qualify as mildly threatening: at Tampa Bay, against Atlanta and at Cincinnati. The Texans are capable of losing to anybody, of course, but the road map should be one they can navigate.

Even after ugly losses to Oakland and Baltimore over the last two weeks, even with flawed DNA that doesn’t appear repaired and even without Mario Williams it’s hard to emphatically say Houston can’t win the division and break through to the playoffs. At worst the Texans figure to slug it out with the Tennessee, a team with plenty of questions of its own.

How close are the Texans to the Ravens, a team they also lost to last season -- in overtime at Reliant Stadium?

“We’re right there,” safety Glover Quin said. “You saw the game. [With] a five-point lead in the fourth quarter, they made some plays and we didn’t. Are they better than us? No. Did they play better than us today? Yes.”

Is this a conversation we have far too often? Before DeMeco Ryans steps in, allow me to answer: yes.

Said Ryans: “We’re right there, that’s the frustrating part. We have to close the game out on our terms. I don’t know how many times I’ve said that in my career, but it’s the reality of it and it has to be done.”

Numerically, things looked just fine in several key departments. The Texans had two takeaways and protected the ball. They were better on third down. They ran for roughly the same average as the Ravens did.

But they failed to find the big plays like Torrey Smith's 51-yard catch over Kareem Jackson, Anquan Boldin's 56-yard catch over Johnathan Joseph and Rice’s 27-yard run on the final touchdown drive that put the game out of reach.

Maybe it would have been a different story if Matt Schaub had Johnson to throw to, but we’re not here to talk about hypothetical situations. And to their credit the Texans didn’t lean on his absence as an excuse.

“Sometimes it’s all too familiar, especially standing on the sidelines seeing what’s going on and knowing that you’ve been there before,” inside linebacker Brian Cushing said, a bandage on the bridge of his nose where he gashed it last week. “It’s frustrating not being able to close it out.”

All that said, confident professional athletes need to maintain faith. And working a cramped visitors locker room at M&T Bank Stadium, I didn’t hear any wavering there.

“I feel great [about our chances] because I feel it’s still early,” Cushing said. “We’ve got big one coming up next week where we can really control it and take the [division] lead like we’re supposed to …”

“I just wish we could play more consistent as a team. Maybe when we have teams where we want them, go for the kill, go for the win. So far we haven’t been able to do it. But it’s a long season. Hopefully we will be able to do that.”

Outside linebacker Connor Barwin didn’t even use the word “hopefully.”

“There is nothing symbolic about this or anything,” he said. “Today they made the plays and we didn’t. I’m very confident still that we’re going to make the plays in the games to come.”

I don’t want to say it’s a bad thing. It’s what he should say. It’s what you want to hear.

It’s hard, nevertheless, not to wonder, why exactly?

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

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 6:

Blitzing Joe Flacco: The Texans generally get good pass pressure without extra rushers. A lot of that has been because of end-turned-linebacker Mario Williams. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Texans have 21 sacks when rushing four or fewer players since the start of 2010. Williams recorded 10 of them, and no other player has more than 4.5. Williams is out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Can Houston get to Flacco with a standard rush? If it can’t, will defensive coordinator Wade Phillips call for more blitzing? How the Texans try to disrupt Baltimore’s quarterback will be a big story line in Texans-Ravens.

Get MJD cranking: The Steelers have given up some big run yards this season, including 150 yards to Houston’s Arian Foster. To win at Pittsburgh, the Jaguars will need Maurice Jones-Drew to carry a big share of the load. He’s gained more than 80 yards in every game so far. That’s a rare feat; only Edgerrin James (2005), Priest Holmes (2003) and Robert Smith (1996) have done it over the last 15 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Jacksonville’s offensive line has been inconsistent and injuries have caused them to change things up. Tackles Eugene Monroe and Guy Whimper have been limited at practice this week.

Defensive backfield in doubt: Cincinnati rookie quarterback Andy Dalton and rookie receiver A.J. Green have developed a pretty good connection so far. The Colts will have to rely on their pass rush to throw Dalton out of rhythm, because their struggling secondary is a mess. Their best cornerback, Jerraud Powers, is probably out with a hamstring injury. That means Green will be working against the likes of Jacob Lacey, Terrence Johnson and Chris Rucker. It’s a group that did not have much success at all against Dwayne Bowe and the Kansas City Chiefs receivers a week ago.

Tight end- and running back-reliant: Matt Schaub threw for 416 yards in Sunday’s loss to the Raiders, but only 99 of those yards went to wide receivers. Schaub is the only quarterback since 2001 to throw for 300 yards in a single game to just tight ends and running backs. Although the team added Derrick Mason, Gary Kubiak and Schaub probably will continue to lean on Arian Foster, Owen Daniels and Joel Dreessen. They can win featuring those guys in the passing game, provided they get plays after intermission as well as before. Houston has outscored the competition 90-25 in the first half and been outscored 70-37 in the second half. They have scored 6 points in the third quarter. It doesn't say much about their ability to make any adjustments.

Mindset: While the Titans enjoy a weekend off, everyone involved in the run game should be preparing to return to action absolutely determined to get things cranking. They simply cannot be the worst run team in the league and remain an AFC playoff contender. Chris Johnson has to show far more determination and get back to running downhill. All his blockers and play-caller Chris Palmer have to get to the root of the issue and solve it. Five games is plenty for them to understand what is happening, what is not happening, and why.

New players marvel at just how fast the NFL is.

But it's not just the speed of receivers and defensive backs that’s alarming. It’s the pace at which things can change.

On Oct. 2 -- a mere 11 days ago -- the Texans were 3-1 and just about everybody was high on them. Today they are 3-2 and heading into what could qualify as an impossible mission: Go to Baltimore without Andre Johnson and Mario Williams and beat the Ravens.

Just how much less threatening are the Texans without their best player on each side of the ball?

Significantly, just as any team would be with the equivalent subtractions.

“I certainly like guys like Connor Barwin, J.J. Watt and Antonio Smith, but they were all better because of the attention that Mario got,” said Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. “He’s very clearly the top threat when designing pass protection against Houston.

“The same can pretty much be said for Johnson. He just demands so much respect from the opponent and still produces. I expect the tight ends and Arian Foster out of the backfield to be featured more, as they were against Oakland. The Texans will try to become more run-heavy. But if I am the opponent, I am forcing Matt Schaub to win through the air now.

“And I don’t love that for Houston. I am high on the tight ends and Foster as receivers, but not the receivers to really help the cause. To me, these injuries push the Texans from contenders to a team that should still win a weak division, but will be a quick out in the playoffs. Schaub just isn’t that type of quarterback.”

Schaub can move the Texans’ offense like a Secret Service detail moves the president.

But the offense can grind to a halt with an untimely three-and-out. And in the clutch, there are still questions. Will he throw an overtime pick-six like he did the last time the Texans faced Baltimore? Will the clock in his head prompt him to throw the interception that ended last week’s game against Oakland rather than get rid of the ball quickly to get one more snap?

More falls on Schaub when Johnson’s not his primary target and when Williams isn’t helping get the ball back for the offense in favorable spots at favorable times. Like most quarterbacks, Schaub’s better when less is on his plate, not more.

As for the two big absences, I often argue after a free-agent departure or an injury that the guys who are in the huddle aren't concerned about who’s not there with them.

Former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker, now of ESPN.com, agrees.

“My take typically is that guys are much more interested in their own situation and their own performance,” Tucker said. “For example: Bummer that Andre and Mario can't play, but I would be much more worried about Haloti Ngata.

“The key is that [coach] Gary Kubiak and the team leaders make it very clear that they don't have any built-in excuses since Mario and Andre are out. Sometimes teams feel like they have that crutch or reason for failure if things go poorly. The Packers, Patriots and others have proven there are no excuses.”

Foster falls in line with that.

He hates to talk about would-haves, could-haves, or ifs and he won’t stand for the Texans participating in any of that no matter how much of it is coming from the outside in light of the injuries to Johnson and Williams.

“Everyone kind of writes us off,” Foster said. “That’s all right. All we need is for the people in this locker room to believe in us, that’s what we’re going to continue to do. Hopefully we play the way we’re capable of playing and come out of there with a W.”

Receiver Jacoby Jones was targeted 11 times by Schaub last week, including on that final pick, and he had just one catch.

Schaub's maddening inconsistency and inability to deliver when most needed helped prompt two moves this week: The Texans traded a conditional seventh-round pick to the Jets for WR Derrick Mason and brought back Trindon Holliday to take over return duties, including punt returns, which were handled by Jones.

Without Johnson or a big-play receiver in his place, will Foster head to Maryland thinking about needing to do more in order for the Texans to win?

“Andre is a big part of what we do,” Foster said. “You have to understand he’s gone and the slack has to be picked up somewhere. But you don’t necessarily have to put it on your shoulders.

"If the coaches feel like that’s something I need to do, that I need to up my production in any form or fashion, I’ll do that.”

Other guys will need to do it too or Monday we’ll be talking about an average 3-3 team that’s heading to Tennessee for a big division game and another chance to slip.

Derrick Mason is not much like Andre Johnson stylistically. But then how many receivers have Johnson’ts combination of precision, physicality and speed?

The Houston Texans new receiver’s game is based on precision and reliability. Mason will be at the right place at the right time, he’ll help move the chains and he’ll bounce up from a tackle after a conversion catch and let defenders know all about it.

That the Texans dealt the Jets a conditional draft pick for the veteran receiver says something for Houston. John McClain of The Houston Chronicle and Mark Berman of Fox in Houston initially reported the trade. Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork reports the conditional pick is a seventh-rounder.

The Texans aren’t content to stand still heading into what could be two more games without Johnson, who’s recovering from a hamstring injury suffered Oct. 2 against the Steelers and a subsequent surgery.

Houston plays Sunday in Baltimore and Oct. 23 in Nashville against the Titans in a crucial AFC South game. Mason, who chose the Jets as a free agent during the offseason but quickly fell out of favor, should be able to help as a top-three option during those games. Beyond that I'd expect he'll be one of four in the rotation with Johnson, Walter and Jacoby Jones.

Coaches and quarterback Matt Schaub will work a crash course with Mason starting Wednesday.

Against the Ravens, he figures to play in at least some specific scenarios and/or packages. He certainly won’t struggle with the Baltimore coverages, as he played the past six seasons with the Ravens before he was released over the summer after the NFL lockout ended. As a member of the Jets, he caught two passes for 37 yards against the Ravens in Week 4.

In a stretch in which the Texans have temporarily lost Johnson and lost defensive end Mario Williams (pectoral tear) for the season while losing a game with a bad ending to the Oakland Raiders, the Texans have found some veteran help.

Mason can be a bit of a clubhouse lawyer -- and the suspicion is that's what prompted the Jets to give up on the relationship so quickly. But he will add some game-day swagger -- and even fury -- to the Texans. It's a team that will welcome more of those ingredients.

This story keeps getting more amazing.

Hue Jackson told his players Sunday after the amazing win over the Houston Texans, that owner Al Davis -- who died Saturday at the age of 82 -- had something to do with Oakland safety Michael Huff's interception of Matt Schaub in the end zone on the final play. There was room for Davis on the field.

The Raiders had 10 men on the field for the final play of the game.

Thanks to all the readers who reached out to me about this. I watched the film of the play. It sure looks like 10 players on the field to me.

The story was already amazing. Now, it’s poetically stunning.

Meanwhile, the Raiders are doing what they can to ensure a full house Sunday for their first home game since Davis’ death.

In other AFC West news:

• ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Chargers are signing veteran linebacker Gerald Hayes. He was cut by the Cardinals’ this summer. He spent eight seasons with three Cardinals. The San Diego Union Tribune is reporting Stephen Cooper will be put on the injured reserve. He tore his bicep last month.
• San Diego defensive lineman Jacques Cesaire is practicing after missing the past two games with a leg injury. He could be ready to play Oct. 23 at the Jets.

Indianapolis’ Curtis Painter had the best quarterbacking day among AFC South signal-callers on Sunday.

All four teams lost, but by both QBR and the traditional passer rating, Painter outdistanced the competition by a good margin.

Tennessee’s Matt Hasselbeck and Houston’s Matt Schaub had the same game according to passer rating. But QBR, which includes more factors and hit Schaub hard for his game-ending, end-zone interception, says the two performances were actually 18.4 points apart.

Jacksonville’s Blaine Gabbert suffered in QBR because of a late fumble of a shotgun snap for which center Brad Meester actually took all the blame.

Comparing QBR with passer rating for AFC South quarterbacks from Sunday:


Passer rating maxes out at 158.3; QBR goes to 100.

For a game, QBR can be interpreted as a percentile, so a score of 80 means a QB’s performance was better than 80 percent of all QB games.

Here’s a rundown of the whole league.

Al Davis always relished being the man the NFL loved to hate.

Being the leader of the marauding Silver and Black drove Davis until his death Saturday at age 82. For Davis and his team, it has always been us against the world. He wouldn’t want it any other way.

However, a day after his death, Davis’ Raiders are far from the most hated team in sports. Whether or not Davis would approve of the outside support, the Raiders are the feel-good story of the sports world.

The emotional scene on the Oakland sideline following an ugly and perhaps unlikely -- Just win, baby -- victory in Houston on Sunday has to be the most memorable moment of the NFL season to date, and the Raiders’ 25-20 win is arguably the most emotional regular-season victory in the history of the storied franchise Davis ran from 1963 until his death.

As soon as Houston quarterback Matt Schaub inexplicably threw a pass right into the hands of Oakland safety Michael Huff instead of walking into the end zone from inside Oakland’s 5-yard line on the game’s final play -- a sign that the football gods were shining on one of the game’s premier innovators -- Oakland’s sideline broke out in raw emotion.

First-year Raiders coach Hue Jackson -- who respectfully referred to his boss as “Coach Davis” -- immediately embraced defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan and the two clung onto each other tightly for several moments. Jackson then fell to his knees and put his head in his hands, clearly overcome with emotion.

It had been an incredibly trying 24-plus hours for the Raiders, who traveled without their owner from Oakland on Friday night. The Raiders’ players awoke Saturday to a team meeting in which Jackson informed them of Davis’ death.

The Raiders spent the rest of the weekend processing the news and trying to prepare to face Houston. Prior to the game, Jackson told his players that the Raiders were Davis’ life, that the team was what Davis lived for. With a sticker honoring Davis on the backs of their helmets, the Raiders fought their way to a victory that had to put a smile on the face of anyone who knows the history of the NFL and Davis’ place as one of the modern game’s most influential people.

This joyful story might last a while. Coming out of a difficult stretch in which they played the Jets, Patriots and Texans, the Raiders are 3-2 and heading into an easy stretch of their season. Oakland has three consecutive home games, all very winnable -- it hosts Cleveland and Kansas City before the bye week, then hosts Denver. There is no reason why Oakland shouldn’t head into the second half of the season very much in the playoff mix -- a mix from which the Raiders have been absent for nine seasons.

The Raiders sold out for this win. They overcame major penalties; they relied on trick plays and bent but didn’t break on defense. It was so fitting that two of Davis’ most questioned first-round picks in recent memory -- kicker Sebastian Janikowski and receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey -- were factors.

As the Raiders fly home from this game and prepare for a likely memorial service, they can rejoice, knowing they would have made Davis proud.

The Davis story will continue. There will be questions of leadership. Raiders CEO Amy Trask said the team will remain in the Davis family, as Davis’ widow, Carol, and son, Mark (who was in attendance Sunday), will run the team. It has been reported that the family probably will hire a general manager down the road, leaving Mark Davis and Jackson to make personnel decision for now. Speculation that former coach John Madden may help the team move away from the Al Davis era has already surfaced. There a lot of questions in Oakland. On Sunday, though, all that mattered was that the Raiders won. In Al Davis’ world, that’s all that ever mattered.

Thoughts on the Houston Texans' 25-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders at Reliant Stadium:

What it means: We gave the Texans leeway when they failed to put away the Saints and lost late in New Orleans. They don’t get that benefit out of this home game, where they did more than enough to beat Oakland and could have finished the day alone atop the AFC South. Instead they fell to 3-2 and gave life to all the same old questions about their ability to finish someone off when they have the chance. Matt Schaub threw a horrific interception to Michael Huff in the end zone on the last play of the game when he could have thrown the ball away and had one more play.

What I didn’t like: It’s hard for me to get beyond that pick. Did I make it clear just how bad it was? Schaub was flushed to his left, and Jacoby Jones tried to shift direction to move with him instead of against him. But Schaub tried to sneak it to him going right and Huff was right there. Awful. If Schaub didn't decide to throw it away, he had a better chance to run it in.

What I liked: They talked all week about needing to spread the ball around and find alternatives with Andre Johnson out. And they got 100-yard receiving days from running back Arian Foster and tight end Joel Dreessen and touchdown catches from receiver Kevin Walter and Dreessen.

Huge injury concern: Mario Williams suffered a pectoral injury as he sacked Jason Campbell and didn’t return to action. If he’s lost for games or, in the worst scenario for the season, the Texans would be in huge trouble. Brooks Reed can do well, but Williams is a singular pass rushing force.

Struggled: The Texans inability to run was a big issue. They turned 25 carries into only 70 yards, which put the game on Schaub. He threw for 416 yards and two touchdowns but also had two picks, one of which you may have heard about.

What’s next: The Texans head to Baltimore to face the Ravens. They’ll likely be without their best player on offense, Johnson, and they best player on defense, Williams.

A look at the most emotional game of the NFL season and it’s not even close:

What it means: Could you think of a more emotional and a bigger regular-season game in the history of the Oakland Raiders? Sunday’s game has become the story of the NFL season. Oakland's win in the final seconds is breathtaking and fitting just a day after the death of legendary owner Al Davis.

Tomorrow’s talker: What was Matt Schaub thinking? He had a chance to walk into the end zone on the final play of the game from inside Oakland’s 5-yard line. Instead, he tossed the ball Oakland safety Michael Huff in the end zone to cement the incredible win.

Trending: Oakland’s defense gave up too many big plays and it was often out of position. But In the end, it kept Houston off the scoreboard and made the big play when it counted.

What’s next: The Raiders’ schedule softens considerably. The 3-2 Raiders are in great shape. They have back-to-back home games against Cleveland (which should be an emotional scene in the Raiders’ first home game since Davis’ death) and then Kansas City before having their bye. The Raiders then have another home game against the Broncos. Frankly, it will be a major disappointment if the Raiders don’t run the table in these next three games. This is a great opportunity for Oakland.

With Andre Johnson expected to miss three weeks after suffering a hamstring injury against the Steelers, will the balance of power shift atop the AFC South?

The three-game stretch the Texans will play without him would be tough even with him: against the Oakland Raiders Sunday, at the Baltimore Ravens Oct. 16 and at the Tennessee Titans Oct. 23.

Houston has weapons even without the top receiver in the game. But defenses are likely to devote more resources to stopping running back Arian Foster. Jacoby Jones needs to be the big-play threat. Kevin Walter is the other starter, while Bryant Johnson will be third.

The primary threat in the passing game should be tight end Owen Daniels. Fullback James Casey, a tight end at heart, and tight end Joel Dreessen are also threats in the passing game.

So quarterback Matt Schaub will have plenty of options. It’s just that none of them bring the combination of size, speed and strength of Johnson, who went down untouched against the Steelers, clutching the back of his leg.

If the Texans could have picked a three-game stretch to be without Johnson, this wouldn’t be it.

How many games do you think they’ll win without him?

Our Monday look at QBR shows Tennessee’s Matt Hasselbeck faring well yet again.

From ESPN Stats and Info, Hasselbeck 97.8 QBR in the Titans win against Cleveland was the single best quarterback game of the year so far.

He made big contributions when the game was close on the relatively few action plays that he was involved in -- just 21 for the entire game. In the first half, Hasselbeck went 8-for-12 for 194 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers and no sacks, helping the Titans jump out to a 21-6 lead.

While Hasselbeck didn’t do much of anything in the second half, even throwing an interception, all those plays came with the game pretty much decided -- the Titans had a win probability over 90% for the entire second half. So overall QBR rewards Hasselbeck for making winning plays early on that put the game away, and doesn’t penalize him much for his so-so play when the game was basically out of reach.

It might seem weird that Hasselbeck’s rating is higher than that of Aaron Rodgers from Sunday (96.2), but keep in mind that Total QBR is a rate statistic that evaluates quarterbacks on a per-play basis. While Rodgers had by far more total value by virtue of his awesome efficiency over 52 action plays, Hasselbeck was slightly more efficient on a per-play basis in the plays he was involved in.

Hasselbeck’s 97.8 Total QBR on Sunday was the highest by any QB with a minimum of 15 action plays in a single game so far in this young season. Hasselbeck also owns the fifth-best QBR game of the season (92.2) from Week 2’s win against Baltimore.

Here’s a rundown of the whole league.

HOUSTON -- The questions about toughness are getting tiring, but they are not as tiring as the effort it takes to answer them.

When the Houston Texans had held off the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 17-10 win at Reliant Stadium Sunday, outside linebacker Mario Williams limped slowly onto the field for postgame handshakes. He looked more like a beaten man than a winner.

“I’m tired man, I was tired,” he said. “I had nothing left. I was so tired. I’m a big dude.”

One game doesn’t do away with a reputation, but after this one it’s hard to question the Texans’ toughness. The big dude had two sacks as he and his defense swarmed a patchwork offensive line to drag quarterback Ben Roethlisberger down five times. The offense did its part too, making room for Arian Foster to churn out 30 carries for 155 yards and a score.

“[Pittsburgh] is one of the most physical teams in the NFL,” Foster said. “They’re known for their defense, they pride themselves on their defense and they played well today. They’re a tough group of guys. I’m sore. But we believe we’re a good team, we really believe that. We don’t need anybody else on our side, just the 53 guys and coaches in that locker room. And it’s going to be a fun year.”

Said Antonio Smith, the defensive end who’s playing as well as anyone in Wade Phillips’ 3-4 front: “Their O-line, I love playing against them. They’re dirty. They fight. They want to finish you after every play. They want to talk to you. They want to act mean. And that’s why we give it right back to them.”

Behind the swarming defensive front, the Texans put their top cornerback, Johnathan Joseph, on the Steelers’ most dangerous receiver, Mike Wallace. Wallace had four catches for 77 yards, numbers the Texans could survive while limiting Big Ben to 16-for-30 passing for 206 yards with no touchdowns and a game-sealing pick.

“Our front seven were eating,” safety Danieal Manning said.

Roethlisberger rolled out of collapsing pockets like usual, but on the snaps where he bought time he didn’t find any back-breaking plays. On the ground, meanwhile, the Steelers managed 5.4 yards per carry using three different backs, but never really found a run rhythm.

Houston had its chances to come apart. Nine penalties for 64 yards hurt, handing the Steelers two first downs, eliminating 33 yards of Houston offense on undone plays, making moot a field goal block returned for a touchdown, and washing away an interception.

Foster was only the third back since 2001 to top 150 yards against the Steelers, joining Curtis Martin (174 in 2003) and Priest Holmes (150 in 2001).

“He was a challenge for us and he won,” Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley said.

Foster played his first full game of the season after dealing with hamstring issues and took more than a full load. Kubiak said he was surprised the back was able to take 30 carries. His backup, Ben Tate, left the game with a groin injury, which meant Chris Ogbonnaya got some snaps and his first two NFL carries.

Being able to run as Foster did meant the Texans could stay on schedule and keyed a game in which Matt Schaub wasn’t sacked, was hit only once and survived the loss of Andre Johnson to a hamstring injury.

As good as Tate had been in Foster’s place, Foster is simply a better combination of power, speed and an understanding of the team’s scheme.

“Arian’s a special player,” right tackle Eric Winston said. “Arian’s a special player now.”

Big wins have prompted big belief before, and people who’ve jumped on the bandwagon have then been bruised when dumped off it. Owner Bob McNair said after the win he doesn’t know if the team’s had a bigger victory, but players hardly echoed the sentiment. They know they should beat these Steelers right now.

They talked about the fun they’re having, which made you want to believe they can keep having it.

“We’ve been talking about it the three years since I’ve been here, but the belief is finally happening,” said Smith. “The swagger is finally starting to come around. We believe when we come into games we’re not the underdog. We come in here to beat each and every team we play, no matter who it is.

“There is no wishing. … I think we have every component that we need to be a championship team and the only thing we need to keep working on is ourselves and believing in ourselves.”