Case Keenum will start at quarterback Sunday against Jacksonville. Head coach Gary Kubiak started his Monday afternoon press conference with that announcement, and explained why he replaced the second-year signal caller with Matt Schaub late in third quarter versus the Raiders.
"I've got total confidence in him," Kubiak said. "I made a decision during the course of the game with something that I was fixing to go do in the fourth quarter that I thought that would be very difficult on a young player. So that's why I put Matt in there and he got us in position to win."
Kubiak said he spoke with both quarterbacks on Monday and told them of the decision.
Keenum, who finished the game with 170 yards through the air, completed 13 of his 24 passes. He threw his eighth touchdown of the season, but was also picked off in the first quarter. He said he
reviewed the game film today with the coaches and quarterbacks.
"We're going to learn from it," Keenum said. "I'm going to prepare this week to be better than I was last week. And I'm going to say the same thing next week."
Along those lines, Keenum explained a facet of his game that he needs to improve.
"There's times where I try to force the issue," Keenum said. "Trying to get out of the pocket too fast, when I'm not letting my reads progress themselves."
The head coach emphasized that Keenum's benching was meant to help the young passer grow.
"I've been in this league a long time and dealt with a lot of quarterbacks," Kubiak said. "I'm trying to develop one right now. Right or wrong, I made that decision because of the situation I thought I was fixing to put a young player in from my standpoint of what I was doing coaching wise."
Keenum and the Texans are off on Tuesday, and will resume practice on Wednesday at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
