Big Offenses Meet As Arizona Hosts Houston

NFL News - October 6th, 2009 - Written by John

Four years ago, the Arizona Cardinals made their first and only trip to Reliant Stadium in a match-up of NFL misfits and were promptly throttled 30-19. In that game, David Carr outdueled fill-in John Navarre, and the main story line was whether or not the Texans had been tanking games to get the no. 1 pick in the following draft.

A lot can change in four years.

Niether of the starting quarterbacks in that game (nor the starting running backs, for that matter) are still on the team and what was before a snoozer dubbed the Reggie Bush Bowl (which later became the Mario Williams Bowl) is now a potential fireworks display pitting two of the best receivers in the game.

The Texans imported Matt Schaub from the Falcons and the Cardinals signed Kurt Warner and both teams have seen their own benefits. Warner led Arizona to it's first Super Bowl in franchise history, while Schaub has been a throw or two away from leading Houston to a legitimate claim for the conference title.

The Cardinals are actually giving up 5 1/2 points, according to BetUs, with a relatively high over/under of 48.

With Indianapolis rolling to a 4-0 start, competing for the conference title this year may be a little ambitious for Houston, but Schaub is continually getting better and is the NFL's fifth-rated passer. He has 1,047 yards and eight touchdowns so far, with a long of 72 yards. That came on a bomb to Andre Johnson in Week Two against Tennessee, where the Pro Bowl wideout had a season-high 149 yards.

He hasn't sniffed that in the ensuing weeks, topping out at 86, but may have a chance to exploit the NFL's 30th-ranked passing defense in terms of yards per game this week. He will be across the field from one of the other premier receivers in Larry Fitzgerald.

The Cardinals are reminding fans more of their regular season performance last year than their postseason one. Although 2-2, they are dead last in rushing offense, despite facing one of the most pourous run defenses in Indianapolis. Tim Hightower leads the team with 109 yards on 32 rushes and has team's lone rushing touchdown.

The only common opponent between the two is Jacksonville. Houston lost to the Jaguars at home, 31-24, while the Cardinals won in Jacksonville, 31-17. Kurt Warner set an NFL record in that game, completing over 92-percent of his passes. Excluding last week against Oakland, the Texans haven't allowed fewer than 24 points to it's opponents. Arizona has only scored that many once this season.

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