The Houston Texans will try to stay hot and win their fourth consecutive game when they travel to Tampa Bay to face the struggling Buccaneers Sunday afternoon. At 6-3, the Texans have a comfortable two game lead in the AFC South over the Tennessee Titans, who Houston beat in Week 7.
That's not too surprising, but what is somewhat unexpected is how well the Texans have been playing offensively despite superstar wide receiver Andre Johnson being shelved with a hamstring injury for the past five weeks. In the four games without Johnson, Houston is averaging 415.6 yards per game (third in AFC) and is second only to the Steelers in offensive touchdowns during that time span. The loss of Johnson has coincided with the healthy return of Arian Foster however. The 2010 rushing leader has 158.6 scrimmage yards per game over Houston's last four games.
Houston will once again be without Johnson this Sunday, as he was ruled out against the Buccaneers prior to his team going on its bye in Week 11.
"I didn't practice, so we felt the best thing was just to wait and go through the off week," Johnson said.
Stay tuned for the full Buccaneers and Texans' injury reports this afternoon as we prepare for Sunday's critical game for Tampa Bay at Raymond Jones Stadium. To learn more about the Texans prior to Sunday afternoon, visit Battle Red Blog.