NFL Week 12 Predictions: Matt Leinart Era Will Get off to Rocky Start

The Houston Texans will begin a new era on Sunday in Jacksonville: the Matt Leinart era. 

Get excited. 

Or not.

I don't like to assume things, but my best guess is most Texans fans are not overly optimistic about the team's prospects with Leinart under center. We are, after all, talking about one of the biggest busts in recent memory. He hasn't succeeded before, so why should he succeed now?

As far as I can tell, there aren't many answers to that question. Until he steps out onto the field and plays a full game, Leinart is a wild card. All we can do now is guess how Leinart is going to look.

Personally, I'm not expecting much out of Leinart against the Jaguars. This is partially because I'm a pessimist by nature, but I also have some actual, you know, reasons to set the bar low for Leinart.

More than anything, you can expect the Texans to try to minimize Leinart's impact as much as they possibly can. Head coach Gary Kubiak knows he has an outstanding rushing attack at his disposal, and I have a feeling he's going to rely on it early and often. He'll unleash Arian Foster and Ben Tate, and they'll both go to town on the Jaguars defense.

In a perfect world, the success of Foster and Tate will open things up for Leinart, thus allowing him to convert some easy throws and build some confidence. The thing to remember, though, is that this Jacksonville defense is no joke. The Jags are allowing barely more than 300 total yards per game, and they're allowing just 18 points per game. They're not going to make it easy on Foster and Tate, and by extension they're not going to make it easy for Leinart.

To give you an idea what Leinart is up against, the Jags haven't allowed any quarterback to pass for more than 225 yards against them since Week 4. The last two quarterbacks they've faced have both been held under 200 yards passing.

To be sure, Leinart won't have to put up big numbers for the Texans to win. He merely needs to show some poise and avoid screwing up.

Seeing as how this is Matt Leinart we're talking about, I'll believe it when I see it. For all Kubiak's praise of Leinart, I just have a hard time seeing him transforming into a capable NFL quarterback just because the situation he's in calls for one.

Will Leinart improve with more reps? Well, I don't think more reps are going to make him any worse, for whatever that's worth.

I'll put it this way: After Sunday, the only way for Leinart to go will be up.

Prediction: 14-of-27 passing, 180 yards, one TD, two INTs.