Zac Diles News

DeMeco Ryans has led Houston's defense since he was a rookie in 2006. Now the Texans have a new rookie star at linebacker in Brian Cushing and coach Gary Kubiak said his presence has made Ryans even better.

Sept. 27: Jaguars 31, Texans 24. Record: 1-2. Sunday: Oakland at Reliant Stadium, noon.

It begs the obvious to say the Texans are playing poor defense across the board.

Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson tried to redeem the struggling defense by forcing a fumble with less than five minutes left in the 31-24 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

After rolling up 21 points and 256 yards in the first half, the Texans had only 141 yards and a lone field goal in the second.

Here are five key things to watch for on Sunday when the Texans face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Battle Red Day at Reliant Stadium.

Brian Cushing has led the team in tackles in the first two games of the season, doling out bone-jarring hits.

They thought they were getting a player with a mean streak, a player whose nasty disposition on the field would rub off on his teammates.

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky The situation: The Texans had just driven to a touchdown that made it 31-31 near the end of the third quarter.

Mark Sanchez , the Jets rookie, and Joe Namath , the Jets icon, met each other for the first time Sunday on the field right after the pregame warmups.

In all of three hours, the hot topic of the 2009 Texans season might have transitioned from whether they can make the playoffs to whether they can lure Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan or Jon Gruden as head coach come January.

Go ahead and tell me about the time you laughed so heartily at my 2009 Texans prediction from two weeks ago.

It's no secret the Texans will put their offensive trust in, from left, Andre Johnson, Steve Slaton and Matt Schaub.

Quarterback Rex Grossman was fired up to hear coach Gary Kubiak called the backup competition even between him and Dan Orlovsky.

Dunta Robinson's teammates did not roll out a red carpet on Sunday when he returned to the Texans, but they welcomed him back with respect and affection.

TV/radio: ABC; 610 AM and 100.3 FM. There is good news and bad news about the Texans ' last preseason game Friday night at Tampa Bay.

This is not what the Texans had in mind when they drafted Brian Cushing. They expected the wild-haired linebacker to ride to the rescue for a defense that was missing some of a certain testy temperament he is known for.

Recapping the majory storylines from the Texans' 17-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football: Schaub sprains ankle: Quarterback Matt Schaub sprained his left ankle late in the second quarter on a bootleg run to the right sideline.

Texans head coach Gary Kubiak and Texans quarterback Matt Schaub left Wednesday's morning workout against the visiting New Orleans Saints with dramatically differing perceptions about how things had gone.

Texans middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans will never forget the first time he stepped on a field in a Texans uniform.