Worth the pick

So before I begin my main point of interest, let me make a few notes about Thursday's game. The protege defeated the master. Coach Gary Kubiak and his Houston Texans manhandled the Kubiak's old team, the Denver Broncos, 31-13.

The Texans held the Broncos' sixth-ranked rushing offense to only 72 yards all night. The Texans' secondary had their hands on the ball all night, deflecting passes and making plays in crucial moments, and the defense held the Broncos to only 4 for 12 third down conversions.

And then there was the offense. Texans' quarterback Matt Schaub sat out for the second straight game with a shoulder injury, and his backup Sage Rosenfels came in and got the job done once again. Rosenfels threw for 200 yards and a touchdown, and ran a smooth offense due to the production of the running game. Rookie running back Darius Walker came in and rushed for 66 yards and running back Ron Dayne scored a touchdown and had 67 yards rushing. Wide receiver Andre Johnson had 87 yards and a touchdown, and a little known fact, Johnson has the highest receiving yard average a game with 102.8, coming in above Moss and Owens.

The main thing about the Texans' offense is that they are able to stay consistent. Houston has scored at least one touchdown in the first quarter in six consecutive games.

And now that the Browns and Jaguars won, the Texans need a miracle to make the playoffs. However, no matter what happens for the rest of the season, you have to be excited for the direction this team is heading.

Now we need to get straight to the fact that Texans' defensive end Mario Williams has gone into a league of his own on defense, especially Thursday in Houston. Williams recorded 3.5 sacks, bumping his season total up to 13, good for first in the AFC and second in the NFL.

"I know this kid is a tremendous football player," Kubiak said. "It’s a great example of a young guy and the pressure he went through last year and the pressure that was on him as a very, very young man."

Williams came at the Broncos' offense from both ends of the defensive line, leaving Denver confused for the most part. He is making it impossible for offensive linemen to go at him one-on-one and even defeating double teams. I don't want to bring up last years draft again, but I don't see Vince Young or Reggie Bush looking all that promising at this point.

"I’m just so much more comfortable now. As the week goes on, I take a look at the plays and see how they work," Williams said.

Now Williams needs to get ready for a Pro Bowl selection. And Williams is aware of the talk, even creating a hula dance after one of his sacks on Thursday night.

"I would like to go. Obviously, it would be a great accomplishment, but the most important thing is the last two games, definitely," Williams said.

So despite the success of Williams this season, and the overall improvement of this young team, the Texans are probably not going to get to the postseason. However, as I stated last week, you have to wonder what they could have done if they were healthy this year. With that in mind, I can't wait to see what this team is going to do in years to come.

This Sunday the Texans are on the road in Indianapolis to take on the Colts. It would be a great end to a great season if the Texans could win out and finish 9-7. The first step is this one, taking on the AFC South champions, I just don't know if they will be able to without all the pieces.

My prediction: Colts 27, Texans 20.