The Texans had a walk-through practice on Monday night in advance of their Thursday night game at Philadelphia against the Eagles.
Normally, players have meetings on Monday and are off Tuesday. The first practice of the week is typically on Wednesday.
"Basically, we've got three days of work to do from a practice standpoint in a day-and-a-half," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "We're just trying to get ahead mentally. We won't get much out of them physically this week; just getting them ready to play and be fresh enough to go Thursday."
This will be the Texans' first Thursday night game since Dec. 13, 2007, when they beat the Denver Broncos 31-13 in Houston.
"The toughest thing is physically," Kubiak said. "It'll be Thursday before their bodies come back around. I've just got to make sure mentally we know what Philly's doing and we get them fresh as we can and go play. The other challenge is playing there. It's a very tough place to play. I would say probably 90 percent of our football team has never been there. I just reminded them how tough it is."
Sharpton to startKubiak said that rookie Darryl Sharpton will start again at weakside linebacker. Sharpton has started the last two games in place of Zac Diles, who missed the Jets game with an illness and played as a reserve against the Titans.
Kubiak also said that cornerback Jason Allen will "continue to play more." Allen was the Texans' nickel corner in Week 12.
"He's got a lot of confidence," Kubiak said. "He's played in some big games and had some success in just getting comfortable with us. He'll continue to be part of the rotation. I think Kareem (Jackson) has played better since we've taken the whole game off of his plate, so we'll continue in that direction."
Health checkWide receiver David Anderson will likely be a game-time decision this week, according to Kubiak. Anderson was inactive against the Titans with a hamstring injury.
Wide receiver Kevin Walter came out of Sunday's game with a minor calf injury, but Kubiak expects him to be alright for Thursday.
"He didn't do anything tonight, but I'll think he be out here doing something tomorrow," Kubiak said. "I think he'll respond."
