"Gary Kubiak told the Texans Saturday night that Arian Foster wouldn't start for disciplinary reasons. They also found out Andre Johnson, slowed by a twice-sprained ankle, wasn't going to play at all. Already missing suspended starters Brian Cushing and Duane Brown, the Texans woke up with a painfully clear picture of what they were facing against the Raiders. But they weren't expecting to also lose Jacoby Jones, Johnson's understudy and an oft-explosive return man, for the entire second half. No matter. When Kubiak asked the Texans to man up, that's exactly what - to a man - they did in Sunday's 31-24 victory that produced a franchise-best 3-1 start, good for sole possession of first place in the AFC South. "I'm proud of our team, I really am," head coach Gary Kubiak said, reflecting on how well his players responded to a healthy serving of adversity. "We had some issues … but we found a way to hold on and play well. I told the players I was as proud of them today as I was of them four weeks ago, when they (beat the Colts). This was a big gut check for our team." Although the Texans are accustomed beating Oakland - hardly the case with Indianapolis - these circumstances were uniquely challenging. The road is the road, after all, and the Raiders seemed a dangerous adversary despite a dreadful stretch of entrenched losing. As quarterback Matt Schaub observed, "They've got a ton of talent on that team." And the Texans were minus a significant chunk of theirs in the person of Johnson alone. "We were all hoping Andre could go out there and play," Kevin Walter said, "but you don't want to take the chance on him getting hurt even more. This is the NFL, man. If you're on the team, you're here for a reason. If somebody goes down, you got to pick it up. We executed very well. The offensive line, Arian … all the running backs … the whole team did a good job today." Steve Slaton started in Foster's stead and averaged 7.4 yards over his five carries. Derrick Ward saw extended duty and picked up 80 yards on 12 rushes, 33 of them accounting for his first Texans touchdown." Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/fb/texansfront/7230307.html
