PLAYER NOTES
–RB Lamar Miller (chest) was limited in practice Wednesday after getting banged up and not finishing an overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts. Miller rode a stationary bike during the portion of practice open to reporters. If Miller can’t go or is limited Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys, he would be replaced in the lineup by backup Alfred Blue.
–CB Aaron Colvin is expected to miss at least six weeks, according to a league source not authorized to speak publicly, with an ankle injury.
–LB Brian Peters didn’t practice due to an ankle injury.
–CB Kayvon Webster, out for the first four games while recovering from an Achilles injury from last season, participated fully Wednesday and could make his Texans debut Sunday.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: OLB Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. He recorded two sacks, four tackles for losses, four quarterback hits and recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
GAME PLAN: The Texans are hoping to improve on third down on defense. The Colts converted 10 of 17 third downs against them. The pass defense struggled as Andrew Luck piled up 464 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Offensively, the Texans have to upgrade their pass protection. They gave up seven sacks to the Colts. For the season, the Texans have allowed 17 sacks and 43 quarterback hits.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Texans LB Benardrick McKinney vs. Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott. McKinney represents the prototypical middle linebacker. He’s big, fast and aggressive. Elliott is excellent at breaking tackles, or dodging them. He is the consummate all-around runner and receiver.
–Texans QB Deshaun Watson vs. Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence. Watson is a superb dual-threat quarterback. He can run or pass equally well. Lawrence leads the NFL with 5.5 sacks. He had 14.5 sacks last year and was named the Cowboys’ franchise player.
