Andre Johnson Injury: Can Houston Texans Win Without Star WR in Lineup?

In yesterday's 17-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson left the game with a non-contact right hamstring injury, which may sideline him for a game or more depending on the results of today's MRI.

This is bad news for both the receiver and the Texans.

Johnson's 5,527 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns represent a third of quarterback Matt Schaub's 15,247 yards and more than 40 percent of his 84 passing TDs since the two starting working together in 2007.

Clearly, without Johnson in the lineup, the Texans will need to find some other source of those receptions, yards and touchdowns. Receivers Jacoby Jones, Kevin Walter and Bryant Johnson, as well as tight end Owen Daniels, will have to step up and take over where Johnson left off—not a small or easy task.

Johnson was a top-five wide receiver in the league last season and has been on pace thus far to repeat that in 2011. Though the Texans boast a considerable amount of depth at the wide receiver position, it's unlikely that one of them (and perhaps all three of them) could make as much of an impact as Johnson, especially should he miss a significant amount of time.

Yes, the Texans have proven that they can win without Johnson or without a dominant passing game.

Houston's running attack—paired with a good defense that continues to improve—was enough to stop the struggling Steelers on Sunday.

And while Houston, who hosts the Oakland Raiders in Week 5 and travels to Baltimore to face the Ravens the following week, would rather have Johnson active instead of on the sideline, it may not be an option.

Surely, yesterday's contest with Pittsburgh might have been fine without Johnson, but in the long-term, they will have to work in the other three receivers and Daniels to prevent becoming a one-dimensional rushing team that is easier to stop than their normal, multifaceted approach.

Johnson is irreplaceable to the Texans, but someone (or a group of them) needs to take over the plays for which he was responsible in the games he may end up missing.

He's a dominant player and a major playmaker for the team, but they can win without him. It's just that they'd rather not.