By Mario Miller – Inpin Insider Extraordinaire, November 28th, 2011

A few weeks ago, Inpin’s very own Dan “The Man” Leach wrote about the Houston Texans’ odds to win the Superbowl; with the loss of quarterback Matt Schaub to a foot injury, it was hard to know how Matt Leinert would answer as he stepped up to lead the team on Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The good news is the Houston Texans won 20-13. The bad news is it came at a heavy price, one that further dashes the hopes of scores of Texans fans expecting the team to make the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s history.

What happened?

The football gods seem to have a wicked sense of humor, with the Colts’ Payton Manning out this season the Texans seemed to finally have a shot at being contenders for the post season.

All was well, until Schaub’s injury muddled the playing field. Moving on, along came Sunday and time for Leinert to show his stuff, which he did completing 10 of 13 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.

Not impressive you say? Well, could it be because late in the second quarter Leinert was pummeled by defensive end Jeremy Mincey in a play that took him out of the game. Details are still sketchy, but it looks like a broken collarbone and further doomsday for the ailing Texans.

What now?

"There's a pretty strong possibility I probably won't be coming back this season," Leinart said. "It's pretty disappointing. It's tough to swallow, but we'll just move forward. Everything that's happened to me, this was a great opportunity. ... It's unfortunate, but I'm not going to give up. It's not my nature. I'll just keep moving forward and figure this thing out one step at a time."

With Leinert out, the team is turning to rookie T.J. Yates. But who is T.J. Yates? A fifth round pick in this year’s draft, Yates played at North Carolina for 2007 through 2010 where he held 37 records, including career and single season passing yards.

He was enough to pull the win on Sunday and he’s surrounded by a good team with a solid offensive line and a decent running game, but the question is can Yates save the Texans?

Houston has the best record in the AFC, along with the Ravens and the Patriots, but even if they do make it to the playoffs it’s hard to see them going the distance. Some analysts predict that they’ll fizzle in the post season; but as for me, I say the resilient Texans may still find the way to prove to everyone that they can pull through adversity.

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