HOUSTON — Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak hasn’t ruled out wide receiver Andre Johnson for Sunday’s game against Cleveland after the star wide receiver missed his second straight day of practice Thursday.

Kubiak said Johnson, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, was feeling better but the Texans didn’t feel he was ready to practice. The receiver went through an intense workout Monday that left him sore and caused him to miss the practices. Kubiak expects Johnson to return to practice on Friday.

“I’m not scared to play Andre if he doesn’t practice,” Kubiak said. “He knows what’s going on. This is strictly about his health and how he’s feeling.”

Johnson was injured Oct. 2 against Pittsburgh and had a minor procedure to repair the right hamstring injury early the next week. He has missed four straight games and the Texans dropped the first two without him before winning their last two.

With Johnson out, the Texans have just four healthy receivers on their roster. Jacoby Jones has been starting opposite Kevin Walter while Johnson recovers, and the Texans also have Derrick Mason and Bryant Johnson.

Walter led the group with five receptions for 70 yards in Sunday’s win over Jacksonville, which improved the Texans to 5-3 and 3-0 in the AFC South. Tight end Owen Daniels also pitched in, snagging four passes for 60 yards.

Kubiak has been impressed with their work while Johnson sits on the bench.

“Andre is our big gun. He’s a great player, a tremendous player and when you lose a guy like that for four games in a season it’s very tough,” Kubiak said. “It’s tough on the quarterback, tough on the group, tough on the receivers. I think they’ve all kind of responded in their own way. They’ve all made plays and it’s been a grind for them.”

Running back Arian Foster had just one reception for 12 yards against Jacksonville, but his 299 yards receiving in the last four games have led the team with Johnson out.

“That’s always been a part of what we do,” Kubiak said. “He’s excellent with his hands. He’s a three down player and we’re going to always make sure that people have to worry about him doing that as well as running the ball. It’s just another way of him touching the ball.”

Foster’s receiving yards have been helpful to the team with Johnson out, but it has been his running that has helped them get back on track in the last two games. Foster has 227 yards rushing combined in the last two games. He is the ninth leading rusher in the NFL with 532 yards despite missing two games.

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HOUSTON (AP)—Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak hasn’t ruled out wide
receiver Andre Johnson(notes) for Sunday’s game against Cleveland after the star wide
receiver missed his second straight day of practice Thursday.

Kubiak said Johnson, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, was feeling
better but the Texans didn’t feel he was ready to practice. The receiver went
through an intense workout Monday that left him sore and caused him to miss the
practices. Kubiak expects Johnson to return to practice on Friday.

“I’m not scared to play Andre if he doesn’t practice,” Kubiak said. “He
knows what’s going on. This is strictly about his health and how he’s feeling.”

Johnson was injured Oct. 2 against Pittsburgh and had a minor procedure to
repair the right hamstring injury early the next week. He has missed four
straight games and the Texans dropped the first two without him before winning
their last two.

Andre Johnson participates in the Texans’ first NFL training camp practice on July 30.
(Bob Levey/Getty Images)

With Johnson out, the Texans have just four healthy receivers on their
roster. Jacoby Jones(notes) has been starting opposite Kevin Walter(notes) while Johnson
recovers, and the Texans also have Derrick Mason(notes) and Bryant Johnson(notes).

Walter led the group with five receptions for 70 yards in Sunday’s win over
Jacksonville, which improved the Texans to 5-3 and 3-0 in the AFC South. Tight
end Owen Daniels(notes) also pitched in, snagging four passes for 60 yards.

Kubiak has been impressed with their work while Johnson sits on the bench.

“Andre is our big gun. He’s a great player, a tremendous player and when
you lose a guy like that for four games in a season it’s very tough,” Kubiak
said. “It’s tough on the quarterback, tough on the group, tough on the
receivers. I think they’ve all kind of responded in their own way. They’ve all
made plays and it’s been a grind for them.”

Running back Arian Foster(notes) had just one reception for 12 yards against
Jacksonville, but his 299 yards receiving in the last four games have led the
team with Johnson out.

“That’s always been a part of what we do,” Kubiak said. “He’s excellent
with his hands. He’s a three down player and we’re going to always make sure
that people have to worry about him doing that as well as running the ball. It’s
just another way of him touching the ball.”

Foster’s receiving yards have been helpful to the team with Johnson out, but
it has been his running that has helped them get back on track in the last two
games. Foster has 227 yards rushing combined in the last two games. He is the
ninth leading rusher in the NFL with 532 yards despite missing two games.

Read More: nfl injury report, houston texans injury report, andre johnson injury, Owen Daniels (TE – HOU), Andre Johnson (WR – HOU), Kevin Walter (WR – HOU), Jacoby Jones (WR – HOU), Arian Foster (RB – HOU), Houston Texans

The Houston Texans wrapped up their Thursday practice and are getting some encouraging news from wide receiver Andre Johnson. According to head coach Gary Kubiak, Johnson felt better on Thursday and will still probably be a game-time decision Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

Andre Johnson has been recovering from surgery on a hamstring injury and is still in the recovery window for the procedure. My guess is Johnson does not play this Sunday, but the good news is the Texans play an early game on Sunday. You will not find yourself rolling the dice on a 4:05pm ET start.

In the weeks since Andre Johnson went down with the hamstring injury, the Texans have had a mix of players step up in the receiving game. Since losing Johnson, Owen Daniels, Arian Foster, Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter have all led the Texans in receiving at some point. Of the players on the fantasy football waiver wire, Walter and Jones are solid options. Walter is probably the safer of the two, while Jones has a bit more upside.

For more on the Texans, check out Battle Red Blog. For more on fantasy football, check out Fake Teams. Follow @sbnationfantasy on Twitter.

HOUSTON – The Houston Texans are successfully employing the motto coined by their AFC South rivals in Indianapolis for years.

Key players have gone down with injuries for the Texans over the last five weeks, but the “next men up” have played well enough to keep the season headed in the right direction.

“They don’t stop things. You got to go play the next week and you’ve got to stay upbeat,” Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. “I think it’s just the team’s mentality and not giving themselves reasons not to succeed, but saying we’re going to succeed, so to speak.”

Backup linebacker Darryl Sharpton was the latest Texans player lost to an injury, tearing a quadriceps tendon in Sunday’s 24-14 win over Jacksonville.

Star receiver Andre Johnson is still sidelined with a right hamstring injury, outside linebacker Mario Williams is out for the season after tearing a chest muscle and safety Danieal Manning is out indefinitely with a broken left leg. Fullback James Casey returned Sunday after missing two games with a strained chest muscle.

The Texans (5-3) have still managed to take control of the division, relying on improved depth they’ve lacked in past seasons.

“We kind of have a ‘next guy up’ attitude,” said linebacker Brian Cushing, Houston’s leading tackler. “We understand the nature of the beast of the game we’re playing. It’s an extremely physical game, and you’re going to lose guys as the year goes on. Some guys have to step up.”

The Texans may still be without Johnson in Sunday’s game against Cleveland (3-4). He sat out Wednesday’s practice.

Matt Schaub’s completion percentage has dipped since Johnson’s injury, despite the recent addition of veteran Derrick Mason. Schaub completed 65 per cent of his passes in Houston’s first four games (74 of 113), but only 56 per cent in the four Johnson has missed (79 of 141).

Schaub still ranks eighth in yards passing (2,118) and he’s thrown six TD passes in the last four games, compared to seven in the first four with Johnson healthy. Receivers Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter, tight ends Owen Daniels and Joel Dreessen, and running back Arian Foster have all made touchdown receptions in Johnson’s absence.

“This is the NFL,” Dreessen said. “You’ve got great players at every position, and there just can’t be that much drop off from a starter to a guy who’s not a starter. Honestly, on this team, I don’t think there is.

“There is just a mentality of this whole season,” Dreessen said, “that nothing, absolutely nothing, no matter what happens, is going to derail our plans and our expectations from winning games and going somewhere this season.”

The defence has been hit harder with injuries, yet somehow continues to improve. Houston ranks third overall (287 yards allowed per game) and fifth against the pass (189.4), a remarkable turnaround for a defence that ranked 30th last season.

“The next guy just has to step in and do his job,” linebacker and defensive captain DeMeco Ryans said. “We’re not expecting him to come in and do something miraculous. Just step in and do your part, along with everyone else doing their job, and the defence just gels together well.”

Outside linebacker Brooks Reed, a second-round pick in last year’s draft, has 14 total tackles in three starts since Williams’ injury, including sacks in the last two games.

Troy Nolan replaced Manning, one of Houston’s key off-season acquisitions. Nolan, a seventh-round draft pick in 2009, played in all 16 games last season and made 49 tackles and intercepted three passes. He made five tackles in his first start of the season Sunday.

The Texans’ defence has generated two turnovers in each of the last three games, and held its last two opponents under 200 yards.

“We’ve got injuries on both sides of the ball,” Kubiak said, “but the football team’s got a lot of confidence and we keep having guys step up or the team’s helping them step up is a good way to put it. Just very impressed with the job they’ve done and hopefully we can continue to keep it going.”

Notes: The Texans signed LB Derrell Smith and promoted Mister Alexander from the practice squad. … Kubiak said Johnson went through a hard workout on Monday and will return to practice on Thursday. Kubiak was still hopeful that Johnson would play on Sunday. “We’re still in a day-to-day process,” Kubiak said, “but I think every day it tells us something.”

HOUSTON — Here’s something new: The Houston Texans are about to
find out how they handle prosperity.

The Texans (4-3) took command of the AFC South with a convincing
victory at Tennessee last week. With Indianapolis down and out
minus Peyton Manning, Houston has never had a better opportunity to
land its first playoff berth and wipe away a history defined mostly
by epic collapses.

“I like the way we control our own destiny,” right tackle Eric
Winston said. “It’s a matter now of going out there and doing
it.”

The Texans can put a stranglehold on the division race with a
victory Sunday against Jacksonville (2-5).

Houston was also 4-3 last season, but a four-game losing streak
was starting on the way to a 6-10 finish. This year feels
different, most notably thanks to last week’s 41-7 win in
Nashville.

Houston produced a season-high 518 yards and the second-highest
point total in franchise history against the Titans. Arian Foster
and Ben Tate both topped 100 yards rushing, Foster also had over
100 yards receiving and Matt Schaub found seven different receivers
on 18 completions for 296 yards without an interception.

And all that came without star receiver Andre Johnson, who may
return this week after missing three games with a right hamstring
injury. Johnson returned to practice this week, but said Thursday
his recovery is “not where I want to be.” Coach Gary Kubiak says
Johnson will be a game-time decision, and Johnson says he still
feels tightness in the hamstring.

“We’re just taking it day by day,” Johnson said. “You’re
encouraged. But when you’re not where you want to be, that’s a
little bit discouraging. I’ve improved from where I was at
(Wednesday), so that’s a good thing.”

Each week, staff members place giant posters at either end of
the Houston locker room. They read “One Focus,” with a Texans
helmet facing the helmet representing the opponent that week.

Johnson said the mindset won’t change, even now that the Texans
are the frontrunners in the division.

“I don’t really get caught up into where you’re at (in the
standings),” Johnson said. “You just try to take it game by game.
That’s just the way I look at it, because if you don’t win, then it
really doesn’t matter. That’s the biggest thing is just trying to
go out and win every game every week.”

On Sunday, the Texans will face a defense coming off its best
performance in years. Jacksonville held Baltimore to 146 yards in a
12-7 victory on Monday night. The Ravens mustered only 34 yards
rushing, the lowest total by a Jaguars opponent since 2008.

The Jaguars have jumped from 28th in total defense last year
(372 yards per game) to sixth this season (299.7). Coach Jack Del
Rio traces the improvement to the infusion of leadership by adding
safeties Dawan Landry and Dwight Lowery.

“It certainly helps if you know what you’re doing, if you’re
communicating with confidence,” Del Rio said. “I think we get some
of that from our safeties being veterans that are sharp, that take
charge and make sure that in the back end, that’s where the errors
are really magnified. If you’re making mistakes in the back end
they can be catastrophic.

“So we’re minimizing those types of plays, where you’re just
giving away big plays and yardage,” Del Rio said. “The safeties
have been a big part of that.”

The Jaguars snapped a five-game losing streak against the
Ravens, restoring some morale in the locker room.

“Any time you win there’s a spark,” running back Maurice
Jones-Drew said. “It feels good, and in order to keep that feeling,
we’ve got to keep working harder and harder and harder every day
and pushing ourselves through the soreness, through the pain,
whatever it may be, and just get ready for Sunday.”

Despite the renewed attitude, the Jaguars have plenty to fix on
offense. They’re last in total yardage (252.4 per game),
second-to-last in scoring (12 points per game) and rookie
quarterback Blaine Gabbert’s 69.4 rating is third worst among
starters this season.

Jacksonville has committed more turnovers than its opponent in
three games this season, all losses. Gabbert said eliminating the
mistakes is the foundation for improving the offense overall.

“It just boils down to execution,” he said. “We played well as a
team last week and we won the football game. We won the turnover
margin. We’ve just got to keep things like that rolling.”

That’ll be difficult against a defense that held Tennessee to
148 yards and 11 first downs last week. Houston’s defense has
generated 19 sacks and 12 turnovers this season.

“They do a lot of things to try to confuse you a little bit,”
Jones-Drew said. “Before we can worry about them, and I say this
every week, we have to control what we can control and that’s how
we practice, how we prepare for them and how we can execute our
game plan to the best of our abilities.”

The Houston Texans continue to get discouraging news about wide receiver Andre Johnson(notes). The team announced that Johnson will not play on October 30 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This will be the fourth game in a row that Johnson misses because of his hamstring injury. The loss of Johnson takes a serious threat away from the Houston passing game. That could be bad against a team that has a pretty good passing defense. With the recent setback, it looks like Johnson might not be able to return to the field until after Houston has its bye week.

Johnson injured his hamstring on October 2 when Houston defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers. The wide receiver did undergo a small operation shortly after suffering the injury. Ever since the injury, it has been a weekly issue about Johnson’s status. There was real optimism that he would play in this game. Typically, hamstring injuries can range anywhere from a week to a couple of months to heal depending on the severity. While Johnson’s injury isn’t anywhere near that severe, it is clearly taking longer than the Texans initially thought. The good news is that he continues to rehab and won’t have to worry about aggravating his injury against the Jaguars.

Houston still has another two games before the off week. The Texans will face the Cleveland Browns at home before they have their bye. After that they visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ideally, the Texans would love to get Johnson back on the field for at least a little bit of work before that bye week. If they won’t, it will mean he has missed six games this season. By his own account, Johnson is about 70% healthy. The team won’t put him on the field until he is 100 percent healthy. That will make the next week critical for Johnson’s return. If he is able to start practicing without pain, he might play against the Browns. But if Johnson can’t go next week, the team is likely to keep him out the following week and wait for the bye.

Johnson is one of the biggest receiving threats in the NFL. Houston has been up and down in the games he has missed. They are coming off a huge win against the Tennessee Titans in large part because of the running game. They will have to rely on that again against Jacksonville. For now, Houston fans just have to wait and see about Johnson’s recovery. They should be optimistic that at least things are progressing, even if it is slower than they hoped.

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Here’s something new: The Houston Texans are about to find out how they handle prosperity.

The Texans (4-3) took command of the AFC South with a convincing victory at Tennessee last week. With Indianapolis down and out minus Peyton Manning, Houston has never had a better opportunity to land its first playoff berth and wipe away a history defined mostly by epic collapses.

“I like the way we control our own destiny,” right tackle Eric Winston said. “It’s a matter now of going out there and doing it.”

The Texans can put a stranglehold on the division race with a victory Sunday against Jacksonville (2-5).

Houston was also 4-3 last season, but a four-game losing streak was starting on the way to a 6-10 finish. This year feels different, most notably thanks to last week’s 41-7 win in Nashville.

Houston produced a season-high 518 yards and the second-highest point total in franchise history against the Titans. Arian Foster and Ben Tate both topped 100 yards rushing, Foster also had over 100 yards receiving and Matt Schaub found seven different receivers on 18 completions for 296 yards without an interception.

And all that came without star receiver Andre Johnson, who may return this week after missing three games with a right hamstring injury. Johnson returned to practice this week, but said Thursday his recovery is “not where I want to be.” Coach Gary Kubiak says Johnson will be a game-time decision, and Johnson says he still feels tightness in the hamstring.

“We’re just taking it day by day,” Johnson said. “You’re encouraged. But when you’re not where you want to be, that’s a little bit discouraging. I’ve improved from where I was at (Wednesday), so that’s a good thing.”

Each week, staff members place giant posters at either end of the Houston locker room. They read “One Focus,” with a Texans helmet facing the helmet representing the opponent that week.

Johnson said the mindset won’t change, even now that the Texans are the frontrunners in the division.

“I don’t really get caught up into where you’re at (in the standings),” Johnson said. “You just try to take it game by game. That’s just the way I look at it, because if you don’t win, then it really doesn’t matter. That’s the biggest thing is just trying to go out and win every game every week.”

On Sunday, the Texans will face a defense coming off its best performance in years. Jacksonville held Baltimore to 146 yards in a 12-7 victory on Monday night. The Ravens mustered only 34 yards rushing, the lowest total by a Jaguars opponent since 2008.

The Jaguars have jumped from 28th in total defense last year (372 yards per game) to sixth this season (299.7). Coach Jack Del Rio traces the improvement to the infusion of leadership by adding safeties Dawan Landry and Dwight Lowery.

“It certainly helps if you know what you’re doing, if you’re communicating with confidence,” Del Rio said. “I think we get some of that from our safeties being veterans that are sharp, that take charge and make sure that in the back end, that’s where the errors are really magnified. If you’re making mistakes in the back end they can be catastrophic.

“So we’re minimizing those types of plays, where you’re just giving away big plays and yardage,” Del Rio said. “The safeties have been a big part of that.”

The Jaguars snapped a five-game losing streak against the Ravens, restoring some morale in the locker room.

“Any time you win there’s a spark,” running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. “It feels good, and in order to keep that feeling, we’ve got to keep working harder and harder and harder every day and pushing ourselves through the soreness, through the pain, whatever it may be, and just get ready for Sunday.”

Despite the renewed attitude, the Jaguars have plenty to fix on offense. They’re last in total yardage (252.4 per game), second-to-last in scoring (12 points per game) and rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert’s 69.4 rating is third worst among starters this season.

Jacksonville has committed more turnovers than its opponent in three games this season, all losses. Gabbert said eliminating the mistakes is the foundation for improving the offense overall.

“It just boils down to execution,” he said. “We played well as a team last week and we won the football game. We won the turnover margin. We’ve just got to keep things like that rolling.”

That’ll be difficult against a defense that held Tennessee to 148 yards and 11 first downs last week. Houston’s defense has generated 19 sacks and 12 turnovers this season.

“They do a lot of things to try to confuse you a little bit,” Jones-Drew said. “Before we can worry about them, and I say this every week, we have to control what we can control and that’s how we practice, how we prepare for them and how we can execute our game plan to the best of our abilities.”

AP Photo/Joe Howell

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson (28) fumbles as he is hit by Houston Texans linebacker Darryl Sharpton (51) in the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011, in Nashville, Tenn. The Titans recovered the ball.

The Tennessee Titans spent their bye week trying to fix their run game.
Now, they have even more work to do.
The Titans finished with a season-low 148 yards on offense, Chris Johnson ran just 10 times for 18 yards and the defense missed tackles all over Sunday in a 41-7 rout by the Houston Texans.
Their second straight loss pushed the Titans (3-3) out of the AFC South lead and looking for answers.
“We’ve got to figure it out because you can’t play like this and beat anybody,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said.
The Titans managed only 14 yards of offense in the first quarter, while letting Arian Foster run for 48 of his 115 yards.
The Titans held the ball for just 22 minutes, 2 seconds and converted only 2 of 10 third downs. Matt Hasselbeck was intercepted twice with one returned for a TD, and he was surprised by the struggles after thinking the Titans were ready to play.
Backup running back Javon Ringer outgained Johnson with 31 yards rushing, and fans booed Johnson early and often.
Johnson said he was frustrated with the running struggles and that those who know football can tell what the problems are.
“I’m very confident that I’ve been doing the things that I’ve been having to do,” Johnson said. “It’s a situation where I continue to say that I can’t do anything but keep running hard and working hard and doing what I can for this team.”
Hasselbeck was 14 of 30 for 104 yards with a 38.8 passer rating, a big drop for a quarterback who had been the AFC’s second-rated passer behind only Tom Brady coming into the game.
But receiver Damian Williams, who replaced the injured Kenny Britt at starter, had headaches after hitting the ground on a long pass play attempt and missed the second half.
The game got out of hand and Titans rookie QB Jake Locker came in with 9:32 left and completed his lone pass for 12 yards for his first NFL completion.
The Texans (4-3) snapped a two-game skid even with Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson missing his third straight game and fullback James Casey his second because of injuries.
Foster ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns and added 119 more receiving with a 78-yard TD as the Texans took back the division lead from Tennessee.
He became the first Texan with 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game. Matt Schaub threw for 296 yards and two TDs, and the Texans won in Nashville for the second time in three years.
“It’s big going forward for us to know that’s what we’re capable of as a team,” Schaub said.
Houston outgained the Titans 518-148 and had the ball for more than 37 minutes. Ben Tate ran for 104 yards, marking the first time the Texans have had two backs top 100 yards in the same game in their short history.
“It’s hard to run on the road, and it was a very big game,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “We get a chance to win like that and to grasp it and play the way we played in the second half is what made me feel good.”
Tennessee managed to force Houston to punt on its first two drives. Then the missed tackles and penalties starting piling up as the Texans scored on six of the next seven possessions in blowing out their rival.
Neil Rackers started it with the first of two field goals. Danieal Manning’s interception pinned Houston at its own 13, but Schaub finished off an 87-yard drive with a 10-yard TD pass to Joel Dreessen midway through the second quarter.
Houston needed four plays on the next drive when Schaub rolled to his right, stopped and threw back across the field to Foster who caught the ball and easily outraced the Titans to finish off a 78-yard TD for a 17-0 lead.
Schaub had been banged up in the past two games. Against Tennessee, he had plenty of time to throw and was rarely touched.
Foster capped a 92-yard drive by leaping over the top for a 1-yard TD, giving the Texans a 27-0 lead late in the third quarter that was so big they couldn’t let it slip away as they did in the past two losses. He added a 5-yard run early in the fourth.
“I’m just starting to get back to my football shape,” Foster said.
Going no-huddle with Ringer in for Johnson helped the Titans avoid the shutout, and Hasselbeck capped the drive with a 5-yard TD pass to Jared Cook with 5:34 left in the third.

By James Carr

The bad blood between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans isn’t going away any time soon.

The past few seasons have seen increased tension between the AFC South rivals, including accusations of chop blocking to cause injury, name calling and, of course, the memorable brawl last season between Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson and Titans defensive back Cortland Finnegan.

Finnegan has been criticized throughout the league for his behavior on the field — especially against the Texans. In 2009, Finnegan seemed to instigate a Titans-Texans scuffle in which Johnson ended up throwing Finnegan to the ground by his facemask. In 2010, Johnson threw several punches at Finnegan during the fourth quarter of a 20-0 Texans victory. Both Finnegan and Johnson were fined $25,000 for the incident.

Johnson will sit out the teams’ game Sunday because of an injury, but memories of the rivalry are fresh in the minds of the players.

During an interview with The Big Show on KBME (790 AM) in Houston, Texans wide receiver Kevin Walter described Finnegan in less than flattering terms. Walters pointed out some of the feisty defensive back’s other habits, and while noting he didn’t necessarily like Finnegan, he’d like to have someone like that on his team.

“It’d be pretty cool to have a guy like that on your team because he’s busting his tail every time,” Walter said. “He can be a p***k here and there, but that’s how he plays.”

The intensity figures to remain high as the two teams share the AFC South lead.

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The AFC South looks like a two-team race, although both the Tennessee Titans
and Houston Texans have plenty to improve upon as they chase the division title.

They’ll battle for the South lead Sunday in Nashville, with each team
looking to bounce back from a tough loss.

Houston (3-3) fell 29-14 in Baltimore last week to give idle Tennessee (3-2)
the division lead, though the Titans are coming off a 38-17 defeat at Pittsburgh
on Oct. 9.

Tennessee will host Indianapolis on Oct. 30, and first-year coach Mike
Munchak said his squad has an opportunity to build a solid lead with
back-to-back divisional games.

“It’s early. We all know that, but you would rather what’s happening happen
and we still know what we have to do this weekend starting with the Texans
playing two division games in a row,” Munchak said. “We lost our first one (to
Jacksonville on Sept. 11) so this game is huge for us to come out and play well
against a division opponent at home.”

The Titans’ inability to run the ball effectively has been the most
surprising aspect of their season. They rank last in the league averaging 66.6
yards on the ground as Chris Johnson has started slowly after signing a $53
million extension.

Johnson’s 3.0 yards per carry rank 47th among 48 qualifying rushers, and he
scored his first touchdown of the season in the loss to Pittsburgh. He came into
the season with the most rushing yards of any player over the last three years,
though Munchak said Johnson is not the only one to blame.

“Some guys may sit there and say, ‘Well, I thought it was the running back.
No, it’s the O-line. No, it’s the tight end,’ so I think you all realize that
it’s a team effort to be ranked where we are,” Munchak said. “It’s all of us,
from coaching to the play calling to the execution, all of that is part of it
when you are dead last. We know that, we are not happy about it, and it’s up to
us to do something about it.”

Last season, Johnson rushed for five yards on seven carries in a 20-0 loss
in Houston on Nov. 28, but bounced back with 130 yards and a touchdown in a
31-17 home victory Dec. 19.

Tennessee’s defense also has room to improve, ranking 30th in the league in
allowing opponents to convert 46.7 percent of third-down attempts.

The Texans, though, are struggling to find an offensive rhythm without the
injured Andre Johnson(notes).

Coach Gary Kubiak said he’s not sure when his All-Pro receiver will be able
to return, but Johnson is likely to miss a third consecutive game this week due
to his hamstring injury.

Despite two straight losses, Houston is in position to reclaim the division
lead with a victory over Tennessee, and the Texans have won three of the last
five meetings.

“We’re going to Tennessee to play in a huge game, for the division lead,”
Kubiak said. “We’re getting over the disappointment of (last Sunday) really
fast, and we’re getting excited about playing this weekend.

“We’ve been in two very tough games, and haven’t gotten it done. But we come
in here, we make our corrections, we’ve got to juggle some guys around because
of some of the nicks we’ve got going on.”

None may be more devastating than the season-ending injury to Mario
Williams(notes), who had surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle suffered in an Oct. 9
loss to Oakland.

The Texans allowed 402 total yards against Baltimore in their first game
without Williams, the franchise’s all-time sacks leader by a wide margin.

Houston may have to rely on its eighth-ranked offense led by Matt Schaub(notes),
who has thrown 10 touchdowns and only one interception in his last four starts
against the Titans.

The Texans rank seventh averaging 126.2 yards rushing, though they’ve
combined for just 163 yards on the ground in their back-to-back losses.

Arian Foster(notes) ran for 143 yards in last season’s win over Tennessee, but was
held to 15 yards on 11 carries in the December defeat. That was the Texans’
seventh loss in nine all-time visits to Nashville, and they’ve lost eight of
their last nine road games overall.

Updated Oct 4, 2011 8:33 PM ET

Houston Texans All-Pro receiver Andre Johnson is having a minor medical procedure on his injured hamstring Tuesday and is expected to miss three weeks, myFOXhouston.com reported, citing sources.

The aim of the procedure is to eliminate scar tissue to speed up the healing process related to his right hamstring.

Johnson strained the hamstring in the second quarter of the Texans’ 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

Johnson, the Texans’ former first-round pick out of the University of Miami, has led Houston in receiving yards every year since being drafted in 2003.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak had already said if Johnson did not play against the Oakland Raiders this Sunday that Jacoby Jones would start opposite Kevin Walter at receiver, with Bryant Johnson and David Anderson becoming part of the rotation.
 

Coach Gary Kubiak said Monday that Johnson is nursing an injured right hamstring and his availability for Sunday’s game against Oakland is uncertain as the team seeks other medical opinions.

Kubiak said that Johnson will “miss some time,” though he said that could range from 3-4 days to a “few weeks.”

“We’re still in the evaluation process,” Kubiak said. “We are dealing with a hamstring, we do know that. We are going to get a couple of different opinions here, over the course of the next two days.”

Kubiak said it’s not unusual for the team to seek extra medical input on players’ injuries.

“A lot of our guys will get second opinions, just trying to decide what’s best,” Kubiak said.

“Obviously, with Andre, there’s big concern. At the same time, we’ve got to do what’s best for Andre. That’s what we’ve got to do right here, so that he understands exactly what’s going on, so we understand exactly what’s going on.”

Johnson went down without getting touched in the second quarter against Pittsburgh on Sunday, and did not return.

The Texans (3-1) still found a way to beat the Steelers — a mark of progress for a franchise known for collapsing when things start to unravel.

Not this time. Arian Foster rushed for 155 yards, including the game-clinching touchdown, and the defense held onto the lead as Johnson watched from the sideline.

“You don’t replace Andre,” Kubiak said. “What you do is you’ve got to pick it up across the board, at other spots.”

Before Johnson went down, Houston already proved it could play well without Foster, the NFL’s leading rusher last season.

Foster was hampered by a hamstring injury during training camp and into the season, and 2010 second-round draft pick Ben Tate topped 100 yards rushing in Houston’s first two games, both victories.

Kubiak is hoping Jacoby Jones can fill in for Johnson as ably as Tate did for Foster.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Jones caught 51 passes for 562 yards in 2010, his fourth season with Houston, and he signed a three-year deal in the offseason. He has seven catches for 91 yards this season.

“Jacoby’s grown up a lot as a player,” Kubiak said. “He’s much better in the run game than he has been in the past. He’s very capable of making big plays.”

Foster may also have to carry the heavy load against the Raiders (2-2).

Tate left Sunday’s game with a groin injury, and Derrick Ward, Foster’s original backup, has been out since spraining his right ankle in the opener against Indianapolis.

Kubiak said both players are “day to day” for Sunday’s game.

Foster already seems as if he’s regained his 2010 form, looking strong in 30 carries against the Steelers.

“We’ve always leaned on him pretty good,” Kubiak said. “When we run the football 30-35 times in a game, we’re usually playing pretty good football as a team. I like to think we can do that every week.”

Kubiak also knows he can rely on fullback James Casey, tight end Owen Daniels and receiver Kevin Walter while Johnson is out.

Casey caught five passes for 126 yards, including a diving touchdown, in Houston’s 40-33 loss to New Orleans. Daniels made two catches to set up Foster’s winning run on Sunday, and Walter had a touchdown catch against the Saints.

And more than ever, Kubiak has confidence in Houston’s defense.

The Texans rank fifth in sacks (12) and fourth in scoring defense (17.5 points per game). Ben Roethlisberger was sacked three times and Houston’s defense allowed only 43 yards on Pittsburgh’s last four series in the final 12 minutes.

“Knowing that we could pin them and the way we were playing defense all day, that’s a great feeling as a coach,” Kubiak said.

Also, unlike past seasons, the Texans have figured out how to deal with their own mistakes. Two Houston touchdowns were nullified by penalties on Sunday, and the Texans were flagged nine times overall.

“Way too many of them,” Kubiak said. “But the thing I was most proud of is we did have so many that could’ve hurt us, could’ve sent us in a negative direction I guess is a way to put it. We didn’t do that. We kept overcoming them as a football team. You could sit there and feel sorry for yourself, but we came right back and made the next couple plays to win the game.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More: nfl injury report, texans injury report, andre johnson injury, Andre Johnson (WR – HOU), Houston Texans

Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson sat out Wednesday’s practice while dealing with a sore knee. Johnson said he was fine and would be back at practice tomorrow.

As long as Johnson participates in Thursday and Friday practices, there is no real need to get concerned about this. Rather, this post is more just to make sure you’ve got this on your radar. For guys like Johnson, it’s easy to stick them in your lineup and only make an adjustment when their bye week comes around. You’ll want to keep an eye out for Thursday and Friday injury reports.

As long as Johnson practices before the end of the week, he’s good to go for this Sunday, which means you’ll keep him in your starting lineup. The Texans are facing a struggling Pittsburgh Steelers squad and Johnson could be in line for a particularly strong day. Not that you wouldn’t start him if you were worried about a strong secondary.

For more on the Texans, check out Battle Red Blog. For more on fantasy football, check out Fake Teams.