Banged Up Texans Will Start Matt Schaub vs. Broncos on Sunday
Dec 5, 2013; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub (8) throws a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. The Jaguars defeated the Texans 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
After starting out his NFL career by throwing seven touchdown passes and no interceptions, Case Keenum’s steady decline hit rock bottom last Sunday against the Colts, and an injury now will keep him out of the game against the Denver Broncos Sunday in Houston.
That being said, former starter Matt Schaub will once again start for the Texans in place of Keenum, though Schaub hasn’t been good at all this season either.
The Texans have the longest losing streak in the NFL, are in the driver’s seat for the number one overall pick in next year’s draft, and have more injuries than even Broncos fans would care to count. To give you a little picture, they’ve placed Arian Foster and Brian Cushing on injured reserve this season, but their backup running back can’t even get a break. Ben Tate, who is a pretty good runner in his own right, was placed on injured reserve this week as well.
Factor in that Houston has also been without Owen Daniels (who is on the IR with designation to return) and you have one of the most disastrous situations in the league today.
Either way, I’m not overly comfortable with Matt Schaub starting this game. He’s played well against Denver in the past, and he’s going to be playing ticked off while auditioning for a job elsewhere in 2014. I don’t see the Texans rolling over for the Broncos in this game, and with Dennis Johnson as their starting running back, I don’t think they’re going to be running it all that much either.
Getting a healthy Champ Bailey back this week should help, but playing in Houston in the noon slot is not an ideal situation for the Broncos, even if the Texans are the worst team in the league. This is a game the Broncos should win by three or more scores, so we’ll see if they go out and take care of business on Sunday.