National Football League

Improved Texans still have work to do

Published Nov. 14, 2009 5:03 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Houston Texans find themselves in an unfamiliar position nine games into the season. They have a winning record (5-4) for the first time this late in the year and remain firmly in the playoff hunt. But as they enter their bye weekend, they're haunted by an inability to win big games like Sunday's 20-17 loss to Indianapolis and know they'll have to find a way to succeed in those games to make their first trip to the playoffs. In the past, playing the Colts close would have been seen as a positive. But in their eighth season since becoming the NFL's most recent expansion team, the Texans know close isn't good enough anymore. "There are no moral victories," receiver Andre Johnson said. "Are we getting better? I think we are. The biggest thing is just winning. You can get better all you want, but if you're not winning, it really doesn't matter." Owner Bob McNair has been happy with his team's progress this season, but is still looking for the Texans to raise their play to another level. "I just think we're a very good team ... we're not an elite team," he said. "There are few elite teams in the league and we've got to eliminate some mental errors before we become an elite team. Clearly, once we do that, we will be not just a good team, we'll be an elite team." The Texans return from the bye in a Monday night meeting with Tennessee before a rematch with Indianapolis followed by their second meeting with Jacksonville. Tennessee is the only division team Houston beat the first time around and the Texans know they'll have to do better this time to stay in the playoff hunt. "I think those games will tell the story of what's going to happen for us later in the year," cornerback Dunta Robinson said. "You can't afford to lose division games and we've already lost two. So we can't afford to lose any more; so those games will be very important for us." Coach Gary Kubiak is encouraged by the improvement of his defense after it struggled early this season under new coordinator Frank Bush. The Texans allowed an NFL-worst 205 yards rushing through the first three games but have given up just more than 60 yards rushing in the last six. The improvement coincided with the addition of strong safety Bernard Pollard, a free agent Houston signed after he was released by the Chiefs in September. "The defense, they've come a long way," Kubiak said. "To me, they're just getting better and better. They're the strength of our football team right now, the way they're playing. I'm very proud of how far Frank has brought them. There are a lot of good things going on. We just have to find some more down the stretch." The group has been helped by the great early play of rookie linebacker Brian Cushing. He has won AFC defensive player of the week honors twice and leads the team and all rookies with 78 tackles. He's joined with veteran middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans to make the group a strength of the defense. Ryans, the 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year, is second on the team with 68 tackles. "I'm very proud of the way our guys have stepped up," Ryans said. "We responded to the challenge, stopping the run and playing a lot better on defense. We still have room for improvement and we can be as good as any defense out there." The Texans are hoping the break helps Cushing get over a sore left foot that has limited his practice time over the last month. Another player they believe will benefit physically from the break is defensive end Mario Williams, who has been bothered by a sore shoulder for more than a month. Williams, the top overall pick in 2006, is off to a bit of a slow start with 25 tackles and four sacks. Houston ranks near the bottom of the league with 13 sacks this season. "We need to get off the field on third downs, get after the quarterback and get turnovers," he said. "That's the biggest thing. We've got to get more turnovers, win the turnover battle and it will put us in a great position to win." Turnovers are also key for the offense as Houston tries to cut down on its miscues in the last seven games. Steve Slaton is tied for the NFL lead with five lost fumbles and Matt Schaub has thrown nine interceptions. Kubiak started Ryan Moats in place of Slaton against the Colts because of his fumbling and hasn't said if Slaton will get his job back after the break. He's indicated that he'll use both running backs regardless of who starts. "The turnovers have to be fixed in order for us to get where we want to go," Johnson said. "It's kind of crazy. We are turning the ball over, but we are still putting ourselves in situations to win games. The thing about it is that if we don't turn the ball over, we wouldn't have to fight at the end to try and win them. We can just go ahead and win them. That's something we just have to learn how to do the second half of the season." Another key to Houston's playoff hopes is keeping Schaub healthy after he missed five games in each of his first two years with the Texans. He's tied with Drew Brees for the NFL lead with 17 touchdown passes, and his 2,653 yards passing are most in the league. Kubiak has been impressed with Schaub's improvement this season, but wants to see him cut down on his turnovers after the break. "He's had a pretty good nine weeks as a pro and he's going to have to be that and even more in these last seven," Kubiak said.