Schaub heats up for Texans after 4-TD performance

HOUSTON (AP)—Matt Schaub(notes) looked like two different quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the season.

His shaky performance in Week 1 ended with a woeful offensive shutout. He rebounded against the Titans to throw four touchdown passes in one of the best games of his career.

Now the Texans must wait to see which Schaub shows up Sunday against the Jaguars.

Coach Gary Kubiak and receiver Andre Johnson(notes) both said his struggles against the Jets in the opener had a lot to do with an ankle injury he has finally put behind him.

If he can stay healthy, the Texans believe they’ll find consistency on offense and build on last week’s success.

There have been concerns about his durability after he missed five games in each of his first two seasons in Houston. Schaub won’t admit that his ankle was bothering him against the Jets, but Johnson said playing in that game should answer any questions people have about his toughness.

“The guy barely can move around and he’s out there playing,” Johnson said. “So that just shows what type of person he is, what type of leader he is and what he means to this football team.”

Schaub relishes his role as leader, but acknowledges that it took some time to get comfortable with the team. Now in his third year with the Texans, the rapport he’s built with teammates is paying off.

“You come to a new team, new situation, new offense, new guys and you just try to learn as much as you can as quickly as you can,” he said. “But until you reach that comfort level in your role and in your job and with the guys you’ve been playing with it’s hard to really have things click like that.”

Schaub’s four touchdown passes were a career-high and tied a franchise record. Playing without receivers Kevin Walter(notes) and Andre’ Davis(notes), Schaub relied on Johnson and used his tight ends to finish with 357 yards passing.

He was named the AFC’s offensive player of the week for the second time in his career. The first came last season when he threw for a career and franchise-best 414 yards in a 24-21 win at Green Bay.

Kubiak called Sunday’s game Schaub’s best, but the honor had Johnson and Walter debating whether he was better in that Packers game. Either way, they’re pleased to see him back to his old self.

“Nothing that he does really surprises me,” Johnson said. “I think it surprises other people because he takes so much criticism.”

Kubiak was impressed that Schaub didn’t make any mistakes that cost the Texans on Sunday. He had three interceptions, two fumbles and was sacked three times the last time Houston visited the Titans.

“It’s a tough environment and part of his task was to protect the ball and not go down with the ball, sacks, all those things that beat a team,” Kubiak said. “I thought he did a great job of that and that’s the key to him becoming a better quarterback is protecting the football. So that’s a big step in the right direction.”