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That’s not saying a whole lot, of course. After all, this is a seven-year-old franchise that has never made the playoffs. Or finished better than 8-8. Or had even a measly three-game winning streak until it clobbered the winless Bengals 35-6 on Sunday.
But the Texans (3-4) do have plenty about which the Vikings (3-4) should be concerned. Especially on offense, where the Texans have averaged a league-high 410 yards per game over the past five weeks.
“We’re really in rhythm as an offense,” quarterback Matt Schaub said. “We’re just clicking.”
No one is clicking quite like Schaub’s favorite receiver, Andre Johnson. He heads into this game with a chance to set NFL records for consecutive games with at least 10 catches (four) and consecutive games with at least 130 yards receiving (five).
Johnson leads the NFL in catches (56) and receiving yards (772). He also garnered a Jerry Rice comparison from Texans coach Gary Kubiak, who observed Rice in 1994 as a member of the 49ers’ coaching staff.
“The thing he has in common with guys like (Rice) is the work habit,” Kubiak said. “He’s our hardest worker. Doesn’t miss a day. Works as hard in the run game as the pass game. Just a very unselfish kid who doesn’t say a whole lot.”
Kubiak also credits Johnson’s success to a better supporting cast. No. 2 receiver Kevin Walter has a team-high five touchdown receptions. Owen Daniels leads AFC tight ends in yards receiving per game (56.4) and first downs (23). Steve Slaton ranks third among rookie running backs in yards from scrimmage (85.9 per game).
Then there’s Schaub, the key to it all. The Texans are starting to get what they were looking for when they traded two second-round draft picks to Atlanta for him last year.
A shoulder injury and a concussion limited Schaub to 11 games last season. He went 4-7. Then he opened this season with five interceptions and four touchdown passes as the Texans sandwiched an 0-3 start around Hurricane Ike, which caused the Texans to reschedule a Week 2 home game.
Schaub missed the Oct. 5 Colts game because of a stomach virus. Popular backup Sage Rosenfels replaced him, built a 17-point fourth-quarter lead and then blew it with three turnovers in the final four minutes.
Schaub started slowly the following week against visiting Miami. Fans booed en masse. Schaub said it didn’t bother him “at all.”
“I grew up in the Philadelphia area, so I know how rough fans can be,” he said. “I was one of them. I used it as a motivating thing.”
Schaub went on to win the Dolphins game on a 3-yard run with 7 seconds left. He then beat the Lions and Bengals while completing better than 80 percent of his passes in each game. He’ll now face the Vikings’ 20th-ranked pass defense a week after setting franchise records for completion percentage (85.7, 24-for-28) and passer rating (144.0) against the Bengals.
“Yeah, Matt’s been through some tough times,” Kubiak said. “But you can’t become a good quarterback in this league until you’ve been thrown in the fire and had people on your butt and stuff. He’s responded well.”
