Atlanta Falcons @ Houston Texans Sun. Dec. 4, 2011 4:15 p.m. EST

With the Houston Texans on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history by clinching the AFC South division title in the coming weeks, this team has finally become relevant in the NFL and a legitimate force to be reckoned with in the AFC Conference. Despite this being the case, this season has been a nightmare for the Houston franchise as they have suffered season-ending injury after season-ending injury to key players on both sides of the football.

Last week was just another game for the Texans as they came out with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and lost yet another important player to a season-ending injury. With new starting quarterback Matt Leinart breaking his collarbone, the Texans had to turn to T.J. Yates to pick up the slack at quarterback and he was unimpressive to say the least by leading the offense to just 67 yards and two first downs in the second half against the Jaguars.

With the playoffs on the horizon, the Texans need to get the quarterback position sorted out and ready for the postseason. There is a slight chance that Yates could be the short-term answer for this team, but the true test will come this weekend when the Houston Texans host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13.

There has been some talk of the Texans picking up veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb off of waivers, but even if they did he probably won’t be able to get under center right away in order to take on the Falcons. With that being said, the scales tilt in Atlanta’s favor this week.

As of right now, the Atlanta Falcons are favored to get the win over the Houston Texans with a -3 point spread. This is right on the money in my opinion as Matt Ryan and company should get the win and cover.

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