Brice McCain News

Zach Miller had to learn how to block. That was the ticket for the two young players to get on the field and they both came up with big plays Sunday in the second quarter of the Jaguars ' 23-18 victory over the Houston Texans .

There reaches a point where it just isn't funny anymoreWell, that point was a couple of season ago.

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub had three turnovers in the second half Sunday. On a day in which I gave Matt Schaub an F-plus for his second-half performance in the 35-27 loss to Indianapolis, I just watched Vince Young take the Titans 99 yards and throw the game-wnning touchdown pass to defeat Arizona, a team that was 5-0 on the road before Sunday.

Key stat: The Texans outgained the Colts 150-43 while maintaining possession for nearly 10? minutes.

After rallying from 17 points down in the 4th Quarter at home last week in a triumphant victory over the New England Patriots, Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts took their perfect 10 - 0 season record to Houston in Week 12 to scrap with a Texan team they had beaten 14 out of 15 times.

Texans rookie linebacker Brian Cushing, who was fined $5,000 for hitting Titans quarterback Vince Young out of bounds last Monday, said he will appeal the fine.

's weekly presser. The Texans lost another heartbreaker on Sunday, dropping a 35-27 decision to the undefeated Indianapolis Colts at Reliant Stadium.

THEIR initial concern was simply to stop embarrassing themselves. Seriously. After the first three weeks of the season, finding the right gaps and making a play every now and then was a legitimate goal for the Texans' defense.

It will have been a while - 296 days, to be exact - but Michael Crabtree finally will put on pads and play competitive football for the first time since the Cotton Bowl in January.

With flu symptoms spreading around the locker room , Texans players are spraying their lockers with Lysol, and hand sanitizer is more valuable than tape.

So the Texans trailed by 14 with 1:44 left. They started at their 20. A field goal drive -- anything -- would have been better than a three-and-out, but that's exactly what happened.

Rookie cornerback Brice McCain, who's the fastest player on the team, will get a lot of action against the Cardinals this Sunday.

Houston's ever-changing secondary looked great against Oakland's NFL-worst offense last week.

The Texans ' best defensive games in terms of yards allowed: Dec. 26, 2004 at Jacksonville 126 Rushing: 95; Passing: 31 Sunday vs.

Here are five key things to watch for on Sunday when the Texans face the Oakland Raiders on Hispanic Heritage Day presented by Comcast at Reliant Stadium.

Texans cornerback Jacques Reeves , who has been out since suffering a fractured fibula early in training camp, will miss Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders at Reliant Stadium after undergoing surgery on a dislocated pinky finger on his right hand.

The Texans need players to step up in defense as they rank last in the league in total yards allowed per game .

What a difference 7 days can make in the National Football League! I absolutely blasted this Texans team last Sunday on SPORTS SUNDAY along with my Firing Line guests John Lopez and John Harris.

"They've been working on the side with Geoff ," coach Gary Kubiak said. "It's a day-to-day situation.

The Texans will have two new defensive backs in the starting lineup Sunday when they host the New York Jets in the regular-season opener at Reliant Stadium.