Browns at Texans
THE STORY: The Houston Texans have the AFC South lined up for the taking. They just need to avoid the disastrous second half of the season that has gotten them in the past. The Texans have never made the playoffs since joining the NFL in 2002 and went 2-8 down the stretch last season after a promising start. A 5-3 start in 2009 did not result in a playoff berth either. But now Houston has the luxury of playing in a division where the Indianapolis Colts are winless and the Jacksonville Jaguars are among the worst teams in the AFC. All-Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson could be back from an injured hamstring when Houston hosts the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Browns are the lone AFC North team with a losing record and have totaled 107 points this season – tied for the second-fewest in the AFC.
TV: CBS, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Texans -10.5, O/U 41
ABOUT THE BROWNS (3-4): Cleveland’s victories have come against winless Indianapolis and Miami and at home in a 6-3 win over the Seattle Seahawks. The Colt McCoy-led offense has topped 17 points in only one game this season and is getting little help from a rushing attack that averages just 87.6 yards. Top running back Peyton Hillis has missed the last two games with hamstring issues and is expected to sit out Sunday after aggravating the injury in Friday's practice. The only thing keeping the Browns in games has been the secondary, which is limiting opposing passers to 171.9 yards – the second-best mark in the NFL.
ABOUT THE TEXANS (5-3): Houston has won two straight division games over the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville. Going against Cleveland’s defense, the Texans are likely to put more of the load on running back Arian Foster, who is averaging 161.8 yards from scrimmage over the past five games while totaling five touchdowns. He has gone over 100 yards rushing in each of the past two. The big difference this season has been the Houston defense, which has jumped from 30th last season to third in 2011.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Texans QB Matt Schaub has four touchdowns and no interceptions in the last three games.
2. If Johnson plays and makes two catches on Sunday, he will become the second-fastest player to 700 receptions in his career (120 games).
3. McCoy ranks 32nd in the NFL in yards per attempt, averaging just 5.66 in the struggling passing game.