After losing their sixth straight game, the Houston Texans are reeling from yet another tough defeat in addition to the uncertain status of head coach Gary Kubiak. In fact, although the Texans played well against the Colts, there are now even more unanswered questions in Houston about the future of the team.
The most pressing question moving forward for the Texans is quite obviously head coach Gary Kubiak’s health. Beyond that, and in regards to football, other questions were produced by Sunday night’s loss to the Colts.
Most notably, the Texans’ quarterback situation got very interesting with Case Keenum’s coming out party. The first half of the game couldn’t have gone better for Keenum and the Texans, ending with a tricky touchdown toss to Andre Johnson from what appeared to be a simple spike.
The second half was notably cooler for the Texans, which is understandable considering Kubiak left at the end of the first half. Still, Keenum succeeded in complicating the Texans’ current quarterback mess.
Now, the Texans have to determine where they go from here. Matt Schaub is still a legitimate starting quarterback, and a team captain no less, but he’s been in such a funk, the Texans have to seriously consider moving on.
The concern here is very elementary. A benched team captain doesn’t make an effective leader, and judging from the various shots of Matt Schaub on the Texans’ sideline, he wasn’t exactly thrilled to watch his offense moving up and down the field under a different quarterback.
Now, Matt Schaub is a true professional, and it’s hard to imagine him voicing strong opposition to any decisions made by the coaching staff, but it’s equally hard imagining him not quietly asking for an out. Matt Schaub has more than enough talent and experience to become another team’s starting quarterback, and he won’t be happy sitting on the bench.
It’s worth pointing out that Matt Schaub makes entirely too much money to sit on the bench as another quarterback leads the Texans. In 2014, Schaub is set to make about $10 million, way more than any backup in the NFL demands. There’s a decision looming for the Texans. It’s just not clear when we’ll get our definitive answer.
The Texans had one last gasp of hope going into Sunday night’s game against the Colts. With their most recent loss, any hopes of a playoff run were eliminated. Now, it’s back to the drawing board once again in Houston.
