St. Louis Rams @ Houston Texans Preview, Game Time, and Channel Info

On Sunday the St. Louis Rams will travel to Houston to play the Texans in Reliant Stadium. Both teams come in at 2-3 and are looking to get back to .500. The game will be played at 12:00 CT and will be televised on FOX on DIRECTV channel 706 and on NFL Game Rewind on NFL.com. You can also listen to the game on NFL.com audio pass or on the NFL Mobile app.

The Rams come into this game already beating an AFC South opponent, granted it was the Jaguars. However, the Rams seemed to find their run game last week with Zac Stacy starting at running back. The Rams will plan on starting Stacy once again this week against the Texans’ 4th worst run defense.

The Texans come into the game having some controversy at quarterback which is never a good thing on a team that should be successful. There is a reason for it though, as quarterback Matt Schaub has thrown a pick six in each of his last four games and has thrown eight total interceptions in that time span. Things don’t seem to get better for Schaub either as safety blanket, Owen Daniels, is out, and Andre Johnso and Arian Foster are hurting. The Texans arent what they have been the past couple of season which could give the Rams a chance. The Texans are also 0-2 against NFC West opponents this season.

Many didn’t see the Rams having the possibility of winning this game at the beginning of the season, and many still dont think so, but this very well could be a game in which the Rams surprise everybody and  get the upset.

The Texans have a pretty long list of injuries, it’s no wonder they have struggled some this season. Linebacker Tim Dobbins is the only player for the Texans that is definitely not playing on Sunday as he has an ailing hamstring injury. Wide receivers Andre Johnson and Keshawn Martin are both listed as questionable. Johnson has a shin injury that has been bothering him. The Texans have 17 players listed as probably that list includes, OLB Bryan Braman(Limited) Neck/Knee, RG Brandon Brooks(Limited) Toe, LT Duane Brown(Limited) Toe, ILB Brian Cushing(Full) Knee,RB Arian Foster(Limited) Thumb/Chest,T Ryan Harris(Full) Elbow, CB Brice McCain(Full) Knee, C Chris Myers(Full) Biceps, RT Derek Newton(Full) Knee, S Eddie Pleasant(Full) Ankle, WR DeVier Posey(Full) Achilles, FS Ed Reed(Limited) Knee, ILB Darryl Sharpton(Limited) Foot, DE Antonio Smith(Full) Quadricep, LG Wade Smith(Limited) Knee, RB Ben Tate (Full) Elbow, and DE J.J. Watt(Full) Nose.

For the Rams, their injury list is extremely shorter. It is not expected that Cortland Finnegan will get back into the ring with Andre Johnson as he is listed as doubtful. Back in Finnegan’s Tennessee days, Johnson and Finnegan had their fair share of battles and became quite the rivalry between two players. DE William Hayes (DNP) Knee, T Rodger Saffold (Limited) Knee, and RB Zac Stacy (Full) Chest, are all listed as questionable. Finally DT Matt Conrath, who has been dealing with a concussion is listed as probable.

Last Meeting: Texans 16 Rams 13

The last time these two teams played was in week 14 of the 2009 season, and the Texans beat the 1-12 Rams  16-13 in the Edward Jones Dome. The Texans went up 6-3 with a couple of field goals, but that was lead was erased when quarterback KEITH NULL threw a touchdown pass to Danny Amendola to put the Rams up 10-6. The Texans got back on track however with a Matt Schaub touchdown pass to Kevin Walter to go up 13-10. The Rams would tie the game at 13, but the Texans would kick the game winning field goal with 3:31 left to play and the Rams were unable to go down the field and tie the game back up.

Matchup To Watch: Rams Offensive Line vs Texans Defensive Line

If the Rams offensive line can give Bradford some time to throw and open up some holes for Zac Stacy, the Rams might be able to find some success on offense. However, if that is not the case and the Rams offensive line gets pushed around, this game could turn into a lot like the game against the Cowboys.

Players To Watch: Zac Stacy and Matt Schaub

We will get another look at rookie Zac Stacy this week and we will learn if the the Rams’ success running the ball was due to Stacy’s ability or lack of run defense from the Jaguars. For the Texans, Matt Schaub is looking to get back on track against a struggling Rams secondary. The Rams will be without T.J. McDonald and Cortland Finnegan, two key pieces in the secondary.

Prediction: Texans 27 Rams 13

I’m trying very hard not to be biased here, but if you look at the tape, the Rams have not done well stopping the run two of the last three weeks, and the Rams offensive line could struggle to protect Bradford in this one. Rams make Texans look like the Texans of the last two seasons and fall to 2-4. Let’s all hope I’m wrong.