Mario Williams and the Texans D kept the Saints and Reggie Bush in check while Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson didn’t miss a beat after Johnson’s seven-game absence and connected on six passes for 120 yards and one TD – including a 73-yard beauty off a play-action fake that had Saints cornerback Jason David trailing Johnson by a good 10 yards – in Houston’s dominating 23-10 victory last Sunday in H-town. This victory puts Houston at 5-5 for the first time in franchise history and amazingly places them on the outskirts of the playoff picture.
Unfortunately for Texans fans, KEYE will be broadcasting the Titans-Bengals game this Sunday, and with Houston’s game not even being carried on local radio, I guess it’s the sports bar and $4 beers for me.
Here’s a look at the AFC playoff standings as of today:
Division leaders: Patriots (10-0), Colts (9-2), Steelers (7-3), and Chargers (5-5).
Wild card contenders: Jaguars (7-3), Browns (6-4), Titans (6-4), Bills (5-5), Broncos (5-5), and the Texans (5-5).
The Texans have the Browns, Titans, Jags, and Colts remaining on their schedule which means two things: 1) Their final six games are going to be as tough as jerky, and 2) they hold their fate in their own hands.
My best guess: The Patriots hold home field throughout the playoffs with the Colts getting the other first-round bye; Jay Cutler leads the Broncos over the stumbling Chargers and Philip Rivers in the West, with the Steelers holding on to the North. The Jags most certainly pick up a wild-card berth with the final playoff team being, uh, I guess the Browns.
The Browns can score, but they also give up a lot of points. If the Texans D can apply some pressure to Derek Anderson and if Houston can stop special-teams juggernaut Joshua Cribbs, they have a chance of going into the Dawg Pound and stealing their bone.
See ya at the Warehouse.
This article appears in November 23 • 2007.