Andre Johnson Injury: WR Won't Be Only Concern When Texans Lose to Jaguars

For the fourth game in a row, the Houston Texans will be without Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson, leaving them shorthanded against the Jacksonville Jaguars and their suddenly, and surprisingly, stout defense.

A loss for the Texans, though, will indict far more than just Johnson's absence, but extend also to Houston's lack of a reliable running game from week to week.

Despite entering the season as the favorite to win the AFC South, Houston was, and is, by no means an NFL juggernaut. Gary Kubiak's club still sports an offense capable of exploding from time to time, as it did last week in a 41-7 route of the division-rival Tennessee Titans, and a much-improved defense under the guidance of former Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips.

At 4-3, the Texans are still on track to secure their first-ever playoff berth, though doing so will be anything but a cakewalk.

That much will be apparent against a Jacksonville team that, challenged as it may be when it comes to putting points on the board, has done anything but throw in the towel on the season. The Jaguars scored their second win in a shocking 12-7 decision over the Ravens on Monday Night Football, in which their revamped defense limited an inconsistently explosive Baltimore offense to just 146 total yards, 90 of which came on the lone touchdown drive of the game.

The Ravens' offense may seem significantly less prolific than that of the Texans, based on the disparity between the two in total yards per game, but the two are practically neck-and-neck in points per game (25.8 for Baltimore, 26.0 for Houston).

Both teams also trot out excellent running backs (Ray Rice for Baltimore, Arian Foster for Houston), hit-or-miss quarterbacks (Joe Flacco, Matt Schaub), physical wide receivers (Johnson, Anquan Boldin) and top 10 defenses.

But the difference between winning and losing for the Texans this season hasn't necessarily been contingent on Andre Johnson, or Matt Schaub's ability to get the ball to him. Rather, it's been the performance of the ground game. On the one hand, Houston is 4-1 when Schaub throws for 300 yards or fewer and 0-2 when he exceeds that limit. On the other hand, the Texans are undefeated when they have at least one running back, whether it be Arian Foster or Ben Tate, run for 100 yards or more on his own.

A benchmark that may be tough for either one to meet or beat on Sunday, given that the Jags have the 10th-best rushing defense in the league this season.

So, if the Texans lose to the Jags on Sunday—a strong possibility given Houston's inconsistency this season—it will be a direct result of their inability to run the ball effectively against Jacksonville's defense, not of Matt Schaub's difficulty completing passes without Andre Johnson on the other end.