Now in the playoffs for the first time, Houston hopes its highly rated defense can lead the team to a victory Saturday against the Bengals, the team Joseph played for before joining the Texans.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Joseph said about helping Houston to its first postseason game against his former team.

He has communicated with 20 to 25 of his former teammates this week and is proud of what the Bengals have done this season. But he certainly won’t feel torn Saturday.

“I’m a Texan now,” he said.

Phillips has had a difficult few weeks after having kidney and gall bladder surgery Dec. 15. He missed two games, but rejoined the team last week and coached from the press box Sunday.

He isn’t feeling great — he has a chair to sit in for parts of practice — but knew it was important to be with the team during this critical time.

“It’s taken a lot out of me but I’m working my back, doing what the doctors say, ready to keep building up,” Phillips, who wasn’t available to the media Wednesday, said recently.

Coach Gary Kubiak insisted the defense wasn’t any different with Phillips away, but acknowledged Wednesday that his return has given the unit a boost.

“I know from a confidence standpoint for everybody it’s nice to have him back in the locker room last weekend and have his presence throughout the course of the week, so that’s been a good thing,” Kubiak said. “We’ve got to make sure Wade gets good and healthy and everything goes OK.”

Linebacker Brian Cushing, who leads the team with 114 tackles, said Phillips’ importance to the team can’t be overstated.

“He’s been huge,” Cushing said. “For what he’s done in turning this defense around has been unbelievable. So much credit goes to him, from scheme, to coaches he’s brought to just the personality of the team.”

Joseph has helped Houston’s secondary go from allowing a league-worst 267.5 yards to just 189.7 this season — the third fewest in the NFL.

“To come in and be embraced by the guys and make such an impact to be counted and looked upon as a leader here has been a tremendous experience for me altogether,” Joseph said.

Houston has thrived in Phillips’ 3-4 defense even without 2006 top overall pick Mario Williams. The former defensive end was expected to star at outside linebacker in the new scheme, but had a season-ending injury during the fifth game.

That left the Texans shuffling people around. They moved the other starting outside linebacker Connor Barwin to Williams’ spot and rookie Brooks Reed took Barwin’s slot.

Reed filled the position ably and Barwin flourished this season, piling up a team-leading 11 1/2 sacks.

Barwin, another converted defensive end, said Phillips is quiet and stoic, but has a unique way of motivating players.

“Wade comes in with some gems,” Barwin said. “They might be short and quick but he’s wise.”

Phillips, who has more postseason coaching experience than any member of the staff with 26 games, encouraged the team to focus this week in practice with one of his “gems” of which Barwin is so fond.

“He walks out and says real mellow like he does: ‘Every single play is the playoffs now,’” Barwin said of Phillips. “So we knew every single play we do in practice is so important just because we’re in the playoffs now.”

DeMeco Ryans also credits Phillips for what has happened this year. Of course, the linebacker has helped out in the change this season, starting each game in 2011 after missing 10 games last year with an Achilles injury.

“The biggest key is that from the first day all the guys just bought into Wade’s system and how we were going to do things,” Ryans said. “Everyone in our room just wanted to excel and everyone wanted to be great in our defensive room.”

Ryans knew around the midway point of the season that this group could be special. Kubiak saw it a few weeks sooner, when the defense stopped Pittsburgh and Ben Roethlisberger four times in the fourth quarter of a 17-10 win.

“That was special against a great quarterback in Ben,” Kubiak said. “So you could see the confidence starting to grow right there and they’ve been very consistent all year long. As a matter of fact they’ve been darn good and hopefully they will continue to be, because we will need to play great defense to continue to move on.”

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

HOUSTON — Houston Texans star receiver Andre Johnson will play against Tennessee on Sunday after missing the past three games because of a strained left hamstring.

Coach Gary Kubiak said Johnson will be on a play count, but wasn’t sure how many. Johnson has played only six games this season after missing six straight with a right hamstring injury that required surgery.

“It was all depending on how the week went and everything went fine this past week, so I’ll be able to go out and play a little bit on Sunday,” Johnson said.

Kubiak said he wants Johnson to play so he’ll be ready to contribute for Houston next weekend in its first playoff game. Johnson also believes getting some work in this week is important.

“I just want to get back in the flow of playing a game,” he said. “It’s been a while since I’ve played. I just want to get back to the game feeling. I think it will show fans that I will be ready to play for the playoffs. So it will give them something to be excited about.”

Johnson is disappointed that he hasn’t been able to play much this season, but after enduring years of losing seasons in Houston, the team’s success this year has kept his attitude positive.

“It’s been a long season with a lot of frustrating times, but there’s still light at the end of the tunnel,” Johnson said.

The AFC South champions have lost two straight heading into Sunday’s game after reeling off seven consecutive wins. While the outcome can’t change their playoff position, they hope to build momentum for the postseason.

“We want to go out and win this game and get back to playing football the way we had when we were on our winning streak,” Johnson said. “We need to come out and eliminate those mistakes that we’ve been having for the past couple of weeks.”

Johnson has finished with more than 1,200 yards receiving the each of the past three seasons, including a career-high 1,575 in 2008. He has 31 receptions for 471 yards and two touchdowns this season while missing the most games in his career.

Two weeks ago, Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips cracked jokes about going on medical leave to have surgery on his kidney and gall bladder.

The 64-year-old Phillips returned to practice Wednesday in a more somber mood, though he’s confident he’ll be able to work from the press box Sunday when Houston (10-5) plays Tennessee (8-7) in the regular-season finale.

“It’s good to be back,” Phillips said. “It’s not as funny now as it was before I was going in. I’m a little more sore than I thought I’d be. It’s taken a lot out of me, but I’m working my way back, doing what the doctors say.”

Phillips went on medical leave Dec. 14, and had surgery the next day. Linebackers coach Reggie Herring ran the defense in his absence, and the Texans lost their next two games.

The players got a pleasant surprise Monday when Phillips showed up at a meeting, and they got another emotional lift when he joined them on the practice field Wednesday.

“Even just seeing him out there and smiling and making calls,” linebacker Brian Cushing said, “I know that means a lot for him, as well. To be away from football like that, it really hurt him. For him to be back out there, all of us are just happier to see him out there.”

Phillips mingled with his players during the practice, but walked to the sideline late in the workout to sit on a golf cart with his father, Bum, the former coach of the Houston Oilers.

Phillips was hospitalized for eight days, and says he’s only now getting back to eating regular food.

“I’m starting to feel better and better,” Phillips said. “I’ll feel good, and then all of a sudden, my energy level does go down a little bit. But that’ll get better as it goes.”

Houston’s defense has made a dramatic turnaround from 2010 in Phillips’ first season, ranking second overall (281 yards per game). The Texans have already set a single-season record for sacks (41) and rank 10th in takeaways (26).

Phillips said the hardest part of his recovery is over, and returning to his regular schedule this week has boosted his spirits.

“Once you get into your routine, once you get to start eating and start being with the players and with the team, in the meetings and so forth, then everything gets easier,” he said. “I’m just starting out, solid foods now. Once I get back to normal, which seems to be the case right now, that will get better and better.”

Coach Gary Kubiak visited Phillips in the hospital and was relieved to see him back on the field.

“Just for me, knowing what he went through, to see where he was then and where he’s at right now, it’s a great feeling,” Kubiak said . “It’s one thing you can’t take for granted in life, your health. It’s good to see him back out here, and I know we all appreciate it. The players are glad to see him back.”

Phillips said earlier this season he was getting too much credit for reviving a defense that ranked 30th overall last season (376.9 yards per game). Fired as coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the middle of last season, Phillips was hired last January, implemented a 3-4 alignment and moved Mario Williams to outside linebacker.

The defense showed instant improvement and was ranked No. 1 in the league for several weeks. But the unit gave up long touchdown drives in the fourth quarters of the two games he missed.

Phillips broke down film of the two games, and defensive end Antonio Smith said he downplayed his condition and got back to business Monday.

“He just told us the situation,” Smith said. “He told us about how he missed us and how he missed football most of all. And then he told us what he thought of the games he missed, because he said he watched all of them. And he told us what we need to do in the future.”

Smith said the Texans were keeping each other updated on Phillips’ condition throughout the last two weeks. Seeing him back at work, Smith said, has put everyone at ease this week.

“You can hear somebody tell you that somebody’s all right,” Smith said, “but when you see him talking and he’s in good spirits, it gives you an easier heart for the people who are really just worried about him as a person, and his health. That was good, just to see that he’s all right.”

HOUSTON –

The setbacks finally seemed to catch up to the Houston Texans in Cincinnati last week.

It had all been going remarkably well — while one key player after another went down with a major injury, Houston somehow continued to win.

At last, the Texans had run into a team good enough to beat them, and the Bengals had them down 16-3 at halftime, and 19-13 with just over two minutes left.

But not even that was too much for depleted Houston to overcome.

Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates, a fifth-round pick, calmly guided the Texans on an 80-yard touchdown drive that ended up lifting the young franchise to its first AFC South title and first playoff berth.

Houston (10-3) has won seven in a row going into Sunday’s game against Carolina (4-9), and with the franchise’s first postseason berth secured, the expansion team with the mostly dismal history is taking aim at the Super Bowl.

And the way this season is unfolding, who’s to say the Texans can’t get there?

“The division was one of our goals, but not our main goal,” running back Arian Foster said, “and there’s a lot more at stake out there for us to go grab. It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along a lot in the NFL, so you have to take advantage of it, and that’s what we’re working towards doing.”

Of course, the Texans are dealing with more obstacles this week.

Star receiver Andre Johnson is likely to sit out for the second straight week with a strained left hamstring, and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is taking a medical leave following kidney surgery. Phillips expects to miss a week to 10 days, and linebackers coach Reggie Herring will run the league’s top-ranked defense.

Phillips has orchestrated a dramatic turnaround, transforming a defense that ranked 30th last season (377 yards per game) to No. 1 this year (275 yard per game). The 102-yard improvement would be the best in NFL history, and coach Gary Kubiak expects nothing to change in Phillips’ absence.

“Our guys, they’ve showed such maturity all year long, through adversity and any issues,” Kubiak said. “They understand the situation, and also want Wade to be sitting there watching them play Sunday and make him proud.

“I watch guys continue to find a little bit more in themselves, week in and week out,” he said. “That’s what our team is all about.”

The Texans have held their last seven opponents below 20 points, but doing that against rookie quarterback Cam Newton this week will be a major task.

With Newton at the helm, the Panthers have made nearly as drastic a reversal on offense as Houston has on defense. Carolina ranks fifth in total offense (399 yards per game) after ranking last in 2010 (258.4 yards per game).

“It does start with the quarterback,” first-year coach Ron Rivera said. “Quite frankly, that position has really been solidified with Cam, as he’s developing and learning the system.”

Newton needs 167 yards passing to top Peyton Manning’s rookie record, set in 1998 (3,739 yards). The top overall pick in last year’s draft, Newton already set a rookie mark with 432 yards passing in a 30-23 loss to Green Bay in Week 2, and his 13 rushing touchdowns are a single-season record for a quarterback.

“The young man’s everything we hoped he would be,” Rivera said.

The hardest part for Kubiak this week may have been trying to simulate Carolina’s offense in practice. Not only do the Panthers run what Kubiak calls an “unconventional” offense, the Texans have no one who can adequately mimic what Newton does.

“I said, ‘Hey guys, I’d love to tell you we can give you a good look in practice of what you’re going to face this week, but we can’t,’” Kubiak said. “We’re going to do our best. You’ve got to respect what he is, as an athlete and what he can do to you. It’s a different challenge because of what they do and all his ability.”

On top of that, Newton gets to work with one of the league’s top receivers.

Steve Smith leads the NFC and ranks second overall in yards receiving (1,217) and became the 35th player to reach 10,000 career yards receiving in last week’s loss to Atlanta. He needs 10 catches to become Carolina’s career leader, passing Muhsin Muhammad (696).

Smith should match up with top Houston cornerback Johnathan Joseph, who has four interceptions. Joseph remembers three previous encounters with Smith during his five-year stint in Cincinnati.

“He hasn’t changed anything,” Joseph said. “He’s just a guy that goes up and competes on each and every play. In this league, that’s all you can ask for from the guy you’re opposing, a guy that’s going to compete, whether it’s a jump ball or a hitch.

“He can take it 80 or 90 yards, that’s just what he’s about, competing from the beginning to the end of a ballgame.”

HOUSTON – The setbacks finally seemed to catch up to the Houston Texans in Cincinnati last week.

It had all been going remarkably well — while one key player after another went down with a major injury, Houston somehow continued to win.

At last, the Texans had run into a team good enough to beat them, and the Bengals had them down 16-3 at halftime, and 19-13 with just over two minutes left.

But not even that was too much for depleted Houston to overcome.

Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates, a fifth-round pick, calmly guided the Texans on an 80-yard touchdown drive that ended up lifting the young franchise to its first AFC South title and first playoff berth.

Houston (10-3) has won seven in a row going into Sunday’s game against Carolina (4-9), and with the franchise’s first post-season berth secured, the expansion team with the mostly dismal history is taking aim at the Super Bowl.

And the way this season is unfolding, who’s to say the Texans can’t get there?

“The division was one of our goals, but not our main goal,” running back Arian Foster said, “and there’s a lot more at stake out there for us to go grab. It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along a lot in the NFL, so you have to take advantage of it, and that’s what we’re working towards doing.”

Of course, the Texans are dealing with more obstacles this week.

Star receiver Andre Johnson is likely to sit out for the second straight week with a strained left hamstring, and defensive co-ordinator Wade Phillips is taking a medical leave following kidney surgery. Phillips expects to miss a week to 10 days, and linebackers coach Reggie Herring will run the league’s top-ranked defence.

Phillips has orchestrated a dramatic turnaround, transforming a defence that ranked 30th last season (377 yards per game) to No. 1 this year (275 yard per game). The 102-yard improvement would be the best in NFL history, and coach Gary Kubiak expects nothing to change in Phillips’ absence.

“Our guys, they’ve showed such maturity all year long, through adversity and any issues,” Kubiak said. “They understand the situation, and also want Wade to be sitting there watching them play Sunday and make him proud.

“I watch guys continue to find a little bit more in themselves, week in and week out,” he said. “That’s what our team is all about.”

The Texans have held their last seven opponents below 20 points, but doing that against rookie quarterback Cam Newton this week will be a major task.

With Newton at the helm, the Panthers have made nearly as drastic a reversal on offence as Houston has on defence. Carolina ranks fifth in total offence (399 yards per game) after ranking last in 2010 (258.4 yards per game).

“It does start with the quarterback,” first-year coach Ron Rivera said. “Quite frankly, that position has really been solidified with Cam, as he’s developing and learning the system.”

Newton needs 167 yards passing to top Peyton Manning’s rookie record, set in 1998 (3,739 yards). The top overall pick in last year’s draft, Newton already set a rookie mark with 432 yards passing in a 30-23 loss to Green Bay in Week 2, and his 13 rushing touchdowns are a single-season record for a quarterback.

“The young man’s everything we hoped he would be,” Rivera said.

The hardest part for Kubiak this week may have been trying to simulate Carolina’s offence in practice. Not only do the Panthers run what Kubiak calls an “unconventional” offence, the Texans have no one who can adequately mimic what Newton does.

“I said, ‘Hey guys, I’d love to tell you we can give you a good look in practice of what you’re going to face this week, but we can’t,’” Kubiak said. “We’re going to do our best. You’ve got to respect what he is, as an athlete and what he can do to you. It’s a different challenge because of what they do and all his ability.”

On top of that, Newton gets to work with one of the league’s top receivers.

Steve Smith leads the NFC and ranks second overall in yards receiving (1,217) and became the 35th player to reach 10,000 career yards receiving in last week’s loss to Atlanta. He needs 10 catches to become Carolina’s career leader, passing Muhsin Muhammad (696).

Smith should match up with top Houston cornerback Johnathan Joseph, who has four interceptions. Joseph remembers three previous encounters with Smith during his five-year stint in Cincinnati.

“He hasn’t changed anything,” Joseph said. “He’s just a guy that goes up and competes on each and every play. In this league, that’s all you can ask for from the guy you’re opposing, a guy that’s going to compete, whether it’s a jump ball or a hitch.

“He can take it 80 or 90 yards, that’s just what he’s about, competing from the beginning to the end of a ballgame.”