With Cushing injury, Houston has Texans-sized problems

Tom Pelissero | USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brian Cushing slowly hoisted himself across the locker room on crutches, the outline of a bulky brace protruding from his warm-up pants as Houston Texans teammates offered solemn hugs and pats on the head.

Down the hall in the bowels of Arrowhead Stadium, coach Gary Kubiak said only that Cushing's injury "doesn't look good," which also could be said for the prospects of the Texans' season after Sunday's 17-16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs — their fifth in a row.

"We found a little heartbeat today," Kubiak said. "I thought we came here and played the type of game we had to play if we were going to come in here and win. We had ourselves in that position."

Instead, they're 2-5, three games below .500 for the first time in nearly three years, and on their longest skid since the 2005 season that got their last coach fired. And now they must go forward without Cushing, the heartbeat of their defense who almost surely is lost for the season.

An initial examination showed Cushing may have a torn lateral collateral ligament in his left knee — the same one surgically reconstructed last fall — and will have to undergo surgery, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

Pending an MRI exam today, Cushing's reconstructed ACL is believed to be intact, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Texans hadn't released details. But Cushing is looking at another lengthy recovery after an injury suffered on a low block — this one from Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, who appeared to be within the rules.

"He's going to come back stronger next year," said running back Arian Foster, who also left Sunday's game early because of a hamstring injury. "He's a tough player."

But what about the Texans, whose preseason Super Bowl hopes have disintegrated into a sea of turnovers and calls for Kubiak's job?

Those calls don't figure to cease during the Texans' upcoming bye week, even with owner Bob McNair issuing a passionate defense of his coach outside the locker room.

"How could anybody get a team playing harder than this team was playing?" McNair said. "How could anybody criticize him? You tell me. How are you going to get him to play harder than that, when you've got two of your best players out and your starting quarterback is out and you're still out there playing right down to the wire?"

With Matt Schaub sidelined, the game plan behind first-time starting quarterback Case Keenum was obvious: control the clock with Foster, put Keenum in high-percentage situations and let one of the NFL's best defenses test a Chiefs offense that has been less than dominant in its 7-0 start.

The Texans continued to run even after Foster left. And Keenum made his share of plays, with six completions of 26 yards or more. But the Texans didn't score a point with their four possessions in the fourth quarter, punting three times and allowing a strip-sack of Keenum to end it.

"I got confused," Keenum said. "Our guys were working to get open. I just couldn't get the ball out."

Do the Texans go back to Schaub when they return to action Nov. 3 against the Indianapolis Colts? Or do they stick with Keenum, who at least avoided throwing an interception and gave them some semblance of a downfield passing game?

The latter seems like the obvious choice, though Keenum, like the rest of the Texans, have a lot of work to do before they can even think about reviving their playoff hopes — which now might require them to run the table at less than fully strength.

"He's got some things he's got to understand better when they come after him that he will learn from and he'll learn quick," Kubiak said. "But boy, he made some great football plays to get his team in position to win.

"He had his team in position all day long. We just couldn't make the one play to make the difference."