The Texans had given up on beaten-down David Carr and shortly after they traded for Matt Schaub, owner Robert McNair could see the light at the end of what had been a long, dark expansion tunnel.
“We’re hoping he can be a Tom Brady-type guy for this franchise,” McNair said. “That’s what we think of Matt.”
It took five seasons, took Peyton Manning going away, took McNair staying the course with Gary Kubiak, took Wade Phillips arriving as defensive coordinator and took Arian Foster emerging as an elite back, before Schaub finally helped get the Texans over their playoff hump. Schaub, who missed the franchise’s first playoff victory a year ago with a Lisfranc fracture, finally registered his first playoff victory last week against the Bengals.
Now, the Texans need him to be better than Brady Sunday in Brady’s inhospitable backyard to get to their first AFC Championship.
If Brady beats the Texans, he will move past his idol, Joe Montana, and become the all-time winningest playoff quarterback (17). If Schaub doesn’t play great, play his greatest game as a pro, the Texans have no chance.
“I think him just getting his first win probably got a monkey off his back because that’s something a lot of people talked about,” Texans receiver Andre Johnson said. “I think with him getting that out of the way, it probably would make him feel more comfortable going into the game.”
Schaub and the Texans have embraced the underdog role, and this is their chance to redeem themselves for a 42-14 annihilation last month at Gillette Stadium.
“He’s had that old road as far as a quarterback career — starting in Atlanta and not playing for a while and getting his opportunity with us,” Kubiak said. “He’s played some good football. Obviously injuries held him back last year, so it’s good to see him get his football team in this position. I know that was a big one last week for him. Everybody is trying to get in the playoffs in this business and trying to find a way to win games so it’s a good start for him and obviously a big, big challenge this week and he’s going to have to raise his level of play.
“We’re happy for him. We’re glad. He’s worked really hard to have this opportunity, and we have to go out there and help him every way we can.”
It means a heavy dose of Foster. It means J.J. Watt swatting away passes and terrorizing Brady along with Brooks Reed, who missed the earlier game, and Connor Barwin. It means Schaub flourishing now that he has his three tight ends — Owen Daniels, Garrett Graham and James Casey — all healthy.
“I think we need to score 7’s down in the red zone,” Schaub said. “Against this team in their building, threes aren’t going to cut it. We’ve got to get down there, we’ve got to be aggressive and we’ve got to score touchdowns.”
Schaub was a third-round draft choice out of Virginia from the Eli Manning-Philip Rivers-Ben Roethlisberger quarterback class of 2004. Everyone in the league knew Schaub would continue to be buried behind Michael Vick, so the Falcons secured a pair of second-round picks for him in 2007.
A year earlier, the Jets brain trust of Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum offered John Abraham to the Falcons for Schaub, who likely would have eliminated the need for Brett Favre in 2008 and Mark Sanchez in 2009.
Schaub has been a 64-percent passer, but he is in the midst of an alarming tailspin — one touchdown pass and four interceptions, including a pick-6 by Leon Hall last week — over his last five games.
“Our guys rally around tough guys and he’s done a nice job with that all year — just keep bouncing back,” offensive coordinator Rick Dennison said. “I think with that, he leads us very well.”
Yes, he essentially yawned when he lost part of his ear following an illegal hit by Broncos linebacker Joe Mays.
“I felt fine. I lost a piece of my ear,” Schaub said.
But now Schaub needs to remember how to throw touchdown passes, against a New England secondary bolstered by coach Bill Belichick’s bold gamble on big, troubled cornerback Aqib Talib.
“It’s not one player,” Kubiak said. “We’ve got a job to do around him.”
That’s a far cry from a Tom Brady-type guy. Then again, there’s only one Tom Brady.