HOUSTON (CBS HOUSTON) – The Texans had a few different “quarterbacks” take snaps with Brian Hoyer missing the team’s game with a concussion.

Jonathan Grimes and Cecil Shorts each took snaps as wildcat backs as the Texans showed off new facets of their gameplan against the Jets to help earn their fifth win of the season.

The most notable of the new wrinkles was a trick play where Cecil Shorts caught a pass and then threw it across the field into Alfred Blue’s arms for a 21-yard touchdown.

“I knew it was a touchdown,” Blue said with a smile. “We practiced all week. We executed great all week. I just knew if it was called we got an opportunity.”

“Good play call at the right time,” said the pseudo-quarterback Shorts who played the position until he switched to wide receiver in college.

He joked the other end of the play was a little nervous about the throw.

“Blue was coming to me every day ‘hey don’t lead me too much, just keep me..’ I’m like ‘relax dude I got you I got you.'”

Shorts didn’t just pass it when he took the snaps. He ran a few read-option plays against the Jets defense to go along with Jonathan Grimes running straight wildcat plays.

“I think that threw them off a little bit,” said offensive lineman Duane Brown about the new looks in the offense.

“I knew he had an arm, but you never know what it’s going to look like on gameday,” said Brown about the Shorts-Blue hookup.

Nate Washington is glad a little fun in practice turned into a lot of fun in the game.

After joking Shorts was a “one shot Dillenger, he got one bullet in the hole” he said he could see the potential for Shorts to take a snap and throw it around.

“Cecil chunks that ball around practice all day every day just playing around. I think coaches were tired of seeing him play around with that arm and brought it out in a real game.”

The new looks came on a short week against one of the toughest defenses on the Texans schedule.

What will they have in store for the Saints next week?

Follow Stoots on Twitter – @Cody_Stoots