One's initial idea might be that Brown will help remedy the problems that the Texans have had keeping Matt Schaub upright. While backup tackle Rashad Butler played admirably against pass rushers like DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora, he wasn't a net positive against them or in the run game.
↵The problem is that, even as Duane Brown was solid at keeping the pass rush away from Schaub in the first two games, his career to-date tells us that he's no sure bet to keep putting up solid numbers in the pass blocking game all season. Out of the question? Probably not. But a sure thing? I don't think so. Those eggs haven't hatched yet.
↵The real place where the Texans can expect improvement is run blocking. While they didn't run much at Washington, Brown was a key blocker in Arian Foster's 231 yards of havoc against Indianapolis. While it would be foolhardy to expect a repeat performance against a Colts team that knows a lot more about the Texans than they did in Week 1, even halving that performance would be a great start to a Texans victory next Sunday. Brown will indeed have a lot of impact on this game, just don't expect the upgrade from him to Butler to take two sacks off the board for Dwight Freeney.