Associated Press
HOUSTON ó The setbacks finally seemed to catch up to the Houston Texans in Cincinnati last week.
It had all been going remarkably well ó while one key player after another went down with a major injury, Houston somehow continued to win.
At last, the Texans had run into a team good enough to beat them, and the Bengals had them down 16-3 at halftime, and 19-13 with just over two minutes left.
But not even that was too much for depleted Houston to overcome.
Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates, a fifth-round pick, calmly guided the Texans on an 80-yard touchdown drive that ended up lifting the young franchise to its first AFC South title and first playoff berth.
Houston (10-3) has won seven in a row going into todayís game against Carolina (4-9), and with the franchiseís first postseason berth secured, the expansion team with the mostly dismal history is taking aim at the Super Bowl.
And the way this season is unfolding, whoís to say the Texans canít get there?
ěThe division was one of our goals, but not our main goal,î running back Arian Foster said, ěand thereís a lot more at stake out there for us to go grab. Itís an opportunity that doesnít come along a lot in the NFL, so you have to take advantage of it, and thatís what weíre working towards doing.î
Of course, the Texans are dealing with more obstacles this week.
Star receiver Andre Johnson is likely to sit out for the second straight week with a strained left hamstring, and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is taking a medical leave following kidney surgery. Phillips expects to miss a week to 10 days, and linebackers coach Reggie Herring will run the leagueís top-ranked defense.
The Texans have held their last seven opponents below 20 points, but doing that against rookie quarterback Cam Newton this week will be a major task.
With Newton at the helm, the Panthers have made nearly as drastic a reversal on offense as Houston has on defense. Carolina ranks fifth in total offense (399 yards per game) after ranking last in 2010 (258.4 yards per game).
ěIt does start with the quarterback,î first-year coach Ron Rivera said. ěQuite frankly, that position has really been solidified with Cam, as heís developing and learning the system.î
Newton needs 167 yards passing to top Peyton Manningís rookie record, set in 1998 (3,739 yards). The top overall pick in last yearís draft, Newton already set a rookie mark with 432 yards passing in a 30-23 loss to Green Bay in Week 2, and his 13 rushing touchdowns are a single-season record for a quarterback.
ěThe young manís everything we hoped he would be,î Rivera said.

Also today, it’s New England at Denver, Washington at the New York Giants, New Orleans at Minnesota, Green Bay at Kansas City, Detroit at Oakland, Seattle at Chicago, the New York Jets at Philadelphia, Cincinnati at St. Louis, Tennessee at Indianapolis, Baltimore at San Diego, Cleveland at Arizona, and Miami at Buffalo.
Dallas is at Tampa Bay on Saturday night. The Monday night game has Pittsburgh at San Francisco.
The weekend began with Atlanta beating Jacksonville 41-14. The Falcons (9-4) clinched their fourth straight winning season and moved 1 1/2 games behind division-leading New Orleans in the NFC South.