Houston Texans: Can They Win Against a Rookie Quarterback?

The last time the Houston Texans took on a rookie quarterback they were embarrassed as he rushed his way to victory against a team that was supposed to be better than his. In fact, the Texans had Tim Tebow and company down by 13 points going into the fourth quarter only to have Tebow’s rushing TD put the final nail in the coffin for the Texans. Fast forward to 2011 and we find Tebow struggling to put together wins as the Denver Broncos are 2-4 on the season.

However, Tebow was the last in a long line of losses that the Texans have suffered to rookie QBs. In fact, out of the seven rookie quarterbacks that the Texans have faced, while under the leadership of Coach Gary Kubiak, they have only won two games.

Vince Young was the first rookie quarterback to upset the Texans. Playing for the Tennessee Titans meant that young would have to face the Texans a second time where he…wait for it…defeated the Texans a second time. The Texans lost their first game to Young in October of 2006 by a score of 28-22 and their second game in December 26-20.

After Young the Texans fell to Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) in 2008, Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) in 2009, and finally to Tebow last season.

How bad have the Texans played against rookie quarterbacks you ask. Let us just say that the two quarterbacks that they defeated (Keith Null – St. Louis Rams and Rusty Smith – Tennessee Titans) were 0-5 in all of their combined starts.

This Sunday the Texans will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars who are being lead by rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert. So far this season Gabbert has completed 69 of 143 passes for 810 yards. He is averaging 5.7 yards per pass and has a QB rating of 69.4. He has also thrown two interceptions, fumbled six times, and has been sacked 18 times.

Likewise, the Texans defense has undergone a major facelift since they lost their nail-biter to the Broncos. Last season the Texans finished as the 30th overall defense, this season they are currently ranked eighth.

If the Texans are to defeat the Jaguars this Sunday they must be able to shut down Gabbert. More importantly, they must stop running back Maurice Jones-Drew, but we are not talking about that right now…

The Texans need to defeat the Jaguars and they need to prove to the fans that they can overcome a rookie quarterback.