Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak and one-time franchise quarterback Matt Schaub might have written their tickets out of town with their actions in Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
Kubiak pushed his chips to the center of the table and bet the house on Schaub when he made the head-scratching decision to bench the clearly superior Case Keenum in the third quarter.
Playing through a cascade of boos and catcalls from the home crowd, Schaub saw a trio of fourth-quarter drives stall in the red zone. The final one sealed the Texans' fate when Schaub couldn't punch the ball into the end zone from two yards out.
Afforded a two-score cushion, the Raiders were happy to leave underneath routes open for Schaub. That strategy appeared to light the fireworks that exploded after Schaub missed a wide-open Andre Johnson down the sideline. Perhaps frustrated by Keenum's benching as well as Schaub's error, Johnson removed his helmet and started waving.
The tension between the long-time teammates increased after's Schaub end-zone pass to Johnson was thrown into safety Usama Young's hands with the game on the line. Johnson yelled at Schaub, who screamed back at his favorite receiver in a heated exchange. A fuming Johnson went on to leave the field as the Raiders were kneeling to end the game.
Kubiak downplayed the incident after the game.
"It's just frustration. It doesn't bother me that players get mad," Kubiak said. "Hell, I hope guys get mad when things aren't going well. But we've got to handle it; them two will handle it."
We're not so sure we've heard the last of this one. Texans fans already had washed their hands of Schaub. Now they are going to be calling for a bankrupt Kubiak's head.
- Kubiak hinted after the game that his quarterback switch was only temporary. "We had to make a lot of changes from a protection standpoint to handle some of the things they were doing, trying to create some tempo," Kubiak explained. "It made it very tough on Case, in my opinion, being a young player, so I knew Matt could get done some of the things I wanted to get done real fast, and to give us a chance to win the football game. So that's why I did it."
- NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported before the game that rookie Matt McGloin had a chance to keep Terrelle Pryor on the bench with a strong performance. The former Penn State walk-on did exactly that, exceeding expectations by throwing darts around the field in his first start. Joining Matt Moore, Max Hall and Jeff Tuel as the only undrafted rookies to start at quarterback in the past decade, McGloin easily has the best arm talent of the group.
- Pryor isn't the only Raiders star in danger of losing his job. On the strength of an 80-yard touchdown run, tailback Rashad Jennings finished with 150 yards on 22 carries. Already outproducing Darren McFadden on fewer touches this season, Jennings now is averaging 144 yards from scrimmage in three starts. He will maintain a significant role when McFadden returns from his hamstring injury.
- Keenum's ability to escape pressure and keep his eyes down the field when he hit tight end Garrett Graham on a Romo-esque 42-yard touchdown produced one of the plays of the week . If Kubiak doesn't turn back to Keenum for next week's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, we're afraid Texans fans will turn up at the stadium with pitchforks and torches.
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