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Injuries to Mario Williams and Andre Johnson have put a promising season in Houston in jeopardy.
After a tough 25-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders that saw a potentially game-winning pass intercepted in the end zone, the Houston Texans have slipped out of the top ten of the latest SBNation NFL Power Rankings:
11. Houston Texans (3-2, LW: 7): I really like this team -- and it could be their year to get over the playoff hump -- but they're getting killed with injuries. First, Arian Foster early in the year, which they survived. Second, Andre Johnson for three weeks. And now Mario Williams -- for the entire season. Ouch.
As Thorman notes, much more worrisome than a loss to a feisty Oakland team are the injuries to the Texans' stars. Houston has had enough offensive firepower to hang in games without Arian Foster and Andre Johnson, but losing Mario Williams to a season-ending pectoral injury is a devastating blow.
There's simply no way to replace a two-time All-Pro 6'6 295 defensive end who averaged a sack a game, especially in new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips' defense, which emphasizes getting after the passer.
The road gets no easier for the Texans, as they have to take their injury-plagued squad on successive trips to division-leading Baltimore and Tennessee in the next two weeks, both known for their hard-hitting defenses.
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2011 NFL Power Rankings, Week 6: Mario Williams Injury Worries National Pundits
NFL Power Rankings for Week 6 are in from all the major media outlets, and the absence of Mario Williams is the common theme.
ESPN's Matt Kuharsky slips them to No. 12, citing Williams' season-ending injury:
There aren't many NFL players who can change a game single-handedly, and Brian Billick, the former NFL head coach, worries that Houston has lost one on both sides of the ball in consecutive weeks. At Fox Sports, he rates Houston as No. 11 entering their showdown with Baltimore:
The most bullish national voice on the Texans is CBS Sports Pete Prisco, who keeps them at No. 7 in his latest rankings:
There's certainly going to be little sympathy for Houston going forward, especially considering how the AFC South was essentially handed to them by much of the media after Peyton Manning's season-ending neck surgery.
Oct 11 12:24p by Jonathan Tjarks