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Week 4 Preview: Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans

The Seahawks can improve to 4-0 with a win against Houston, but Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster is looking for more touches.
Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans
Arian Foster will try to protect his house from the 3-0 Seattle Seahawks in Week 4.


The Seattle Seahawks will ride their perfect record into the Lonestar State for Week 4, as Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch go up against Arian Foster, Matt Schaub, and the Houston Texans.

The Seahawks have been dominant in two of their three wins, and we can forgive them for winning by only five points in Week 1. Houston's lone loss cam in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens, 31-9, but they've also picked up two victories against the surprisingly staunch Tennessee Titans and San Diego Chargers.

On the season, Seattle's Lynch has 210 yards through three games compared to Foster's 190 yards, and Matt Schaub's 838 passing yards leads Russell Wilson's 664.

Wilson, however, enters Week 4 with a 109.6 passer rating. Schaub's is average at 87.3, and the quarterback has been receiving criticism for his play.

"I don't know that he can carry this football team," said CBS football analyst and former Pro Bowl quarterback, Rich Gannon, on Monday. "He's a system guy. He's a guy that succeeds when they're running the football well.

"But it's the kind of mistakes that really bother me, not seeing a flat defender or a linebacker run in front of an angle route. These are the things that you expect from an inexperienced rookie quarterback. If they're running the football well and dominating on defense, I think he can be that guy. But if they fall behind, Matt Schaub and the Texans struggle."

In Houston's Week 3 loss to Baltimore, the Texans bell behind 17-9 by halftime and failed to score again. Schaub had 194 passing yards, but three no touchdowns and one interception, while Foster was held to just 54 yards on 12 carries.

"I'm ready to go whenever they want to let me go," Foster told the Houston Chronicle on Thursday. "But you've got to be patient and trust coach."

Foster's job won't get any easier against the Seahawks this week – Seattle allowed 17 points to Jacksonville last week, but it sat most of its starters in the final two quarters and held Jaguars' running back Maurice Jones-Drew to just 43 yards on 19 carries. The Seahawks also stuffed Frank Gore in Week 2, but they allowed Carolina's DeAngelo Williams to run for 86 yards in Week 1, and quarterback Cam Newton also added 38 yards on the ground.

Defensively, both teams have been sensational, although Houston has struggled to limit opponents' scoring. Seattle has allowed the fewest yards per game in the NFL (241.7) and Houston is right behind, allowing only 249.0 yards per game.

However, the Seahawks have allowed just 27 points through three games, and Houston has allowed 82 points.