The Seahawks took care of business against the 49ers at home 20-17 last week. Now the team heads south to Reliant Stadium in a matchup with another 5-7; the Houston Texans. Coming into the season many experts thought the Texans were playoff bound; same goes for the Seahawks. As the former coach and current college football analysis Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friend!” For some reason, the Texans just can’t quite get over the hump and beat the likes of Indianapolis (not many other teams can these days) and make the playoffs since they came into the league in 2002. Even though the Texans lost tide end Owen Daniels and running back Steve Slaton for the season, they are still loaded starting with wide receiver Andre Johnson. 

Johnson ranks eighth in the NFL in catches (70) and he’s third in receiving yards (1,044).  Texans quarterback Matt Schaub is like a younger Matthew Hasselbeck and when healthy, he can pick apart any defense. So far this season, Schaub has a passer rating of 97.2 and thrown for 3,449 yards (287.4/g) and 22 touchdowns. The Texans are ranked 13th in the NFL in scoring (23.1/game); but that number is somewhat skewed because the Texans scored only seven points in Week 1 against the NY Jets. In recent losses to the Colts and Titans, Houston mustered 17 points in both games. So, the Texans can score and score in bunches. It will be interesting to see if Seattle can slow them down enough to win. On defense, “Super” Mario Williams and company are giving up about 22 points per game (same as the Seahawks).

All things being equal on defense, the big question is can running back Julius Jones and the passing attack do better than what the Texans will bring? I have my doubts and here’s why. The Seahawks have scored 10 points or less three times this year; the Texans as mentioned scored less then 10 points only once (against the Jets in Week 1). Plus, outside of the Rams game or the Lions win, when was the last time Seattle ripped off some serious points against a respectable opponent? If you said the Jaguars in Week 5 you are right!

Speaking of the Jaguars, Seattle shut out them out and St. Louis to start the season but the Texans has yet to shut anybody out. Houston just lost to Jacksonville in the sunshine state 23-18. It’s also noteworthy that the undefeated Colts blew out Seattle 34-17 (it wasn’t even close); but on the flip side, Indianapolis beat Houston twice (20-17, and 35-27) but those games were competitive. Seattle has played Houston once since the franchise; the Seahawks waxed the Texans 41-10 in 2005 on their way to the Super Bowl. There is no doubt about it; the duel on Sunday will be closer. This time, Houston won’t have a problem against Seattle.

Prediction: Texans 35, Seahawks 24.

Hasselbeck Photo: Courtesy Otto Greule/Getty Images

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