Andre Johnson Injury: Why WR's Absence Won't Stop Texans from Mauling Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars upset the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football for their second win of the season. They are riding high in confidence.

Their ride will be short-lived because they travel to play the AFC South-leading Houston Texans in Week 8. Houston will blowout the Jaguars without wide receiver Andre Johnson just like they blew out the Tennessee Titans last week.

Without Johnson, Houston went back to what has made them a successful football team and that is riding their horse Arian Foster. Houston is 2-0 when Foster has 25 or more rushes on the season. He had 30 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and 25 against the Titans.

It’s no surprise that he received the most carries of the season in the two biggest games on the schedule. That is how the Texans need to win games—feeding their horse.

Houston has other players that are capable of filling the void for one game. Tight end Owen Daniels has more receptions (27), yards (355) and touchdowns (three) than anybody on the roster. Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones and now Derrick Mason will all play a role in the victory at the wide receiver positions.

Jacksonville is coming off playing in the Monday Night game, and teams that played in the Monday game are just 7-7 in 2011. The shortened week has hindered teams this year. 

Houston is coming off their biggest win of the season in their blowout 41-7 victory over the Titans on the road. It was a game that they needed to win if they wanted to finally break through and make the postseason. Also, they couldn’t afford to fall another game behind the Titans in the standings.

They will build off their important victory and ride with it for the rest of the season starting with Jacksonville. 

The Texans are solid offensively and defensively in 2011. They rank in the top-10 in rushing, passing, rush defense and pass offense. Even though the Jaguars defense has been good in 2011, they are still capable of allowing a high amount of points on any given day. They have allowed 30 or more points twice in 2011.

Houston can score points at a solid clip of 26 points per game.              

Jacksonville returns to reality after their upset victory over Baltimore and Houston continues to push towards their first playoff berth.

Houston wins 27-10.