On paper, it appears that everything is coming up roses for the Houston Texans. They sit atop the AFC (with a 8-3 record) and are undoubtedly one of the teams to reckon with on the run to the Superbowl in Indianapolis.

Yet, troubling times lie ahead for the expansion franchise.

Two weeks ago, Houston lost starting quarterback Matt Schaub to a season ending injury. That resulted in former first-round selection Matt Leinart taking his place under centre.

Leinart starred in his college career at USC, but has struggled making the transition to the big league. Yet, at the helm of an elite level team, he was never going to get a better chance to succeed than that given in Houston.

Leinart started Monday's game brightly, before going down with a shoulder injury, which will likely signal the end of his campaign.

So, with Houston staring down the barrel of approaching a playoff run - minus their starting two quarterbacks - logic would say they have to jump into the free agency market to fill their injury-forced void.

We here at BPL have a few candidates for the Texans:

DAVID GARRARD: Garrard is currently without work in the NFL. The former Jacksonville Jags signal-caller was unceremoniously dumped on the eve of the season and has yet to find a new team to call home.

Without being stellar, Garrard has amassed a solid NFL career. He has an overall passer rating in excess of 85 - a solid mark for an QB - and his 2010 season led to him throwing for a career high in touchdowns (23).

Seemingly, the only knock against Garrard, is that he has been out of action all year and also battling injury. But, if those issues could be sorted, the veteran play Garrard would provide could be the perfect tonic for an ailing Houston.

JEFF GARCIA: Garcia has been out of the league since 2009, and is an absolute long shot at best. Yet, Steve Mariucci - the former Lions/49ers head coach who had Garcia as his quarterback for several years - stated on his weekly NFL Network show that Garcia would be a walk-up start for Houston.

Garcia has an 87.5% career rating and has thrown for 161 touchdowns in his career, clearly showing that he has the talent to lead a team into the playoffs.

But the fact that he has been retired since 2009 would seemingly make a Garcia return implausible. Although, given a glowing recommendation from his former coach, and a proven track record of success, means that he should be considered. Garcia's relationship and past history with Houston's Offensive Coordinator, adds further weight to the notion that a Texan-comeback may not be as far fetched, as it may seem.

T.J YATES: Who?

While Yates may be a relative unknown, he is in all likelihood, the man who will take the reins in Houston.

He may have been the third string quarterback little more than one week ago, but Yates still has a great advantage over any outsiders, due to his knowledge of the franchise and play calling in Houston.

Yates was far from brilliant when he replaced Leinart on Monday, but he didn't make many mistakes, and ultimately led the Texans to a 20-13 win over Jacksonville.

If I were a betting man, Yates would be the favourite to start next week for Houston.

THE IMPERFECT COLTS

Without taking the field in 2011, Peyton Manning has proved just how valuable he is to the Colts franchise.

With Manning, they were a perennial contender; as the former MVP sits on the sideline nursing a neck injury, the Colts are currently winless.

Before the season, fans dreamt at cheering on their Colts in the Superbowl in February, instead the Colts have turned their attention to watching Stanford play in College, to see how potential number one selection Andrew Luck is performing.

After failing to the Carolina Panthers, the Colts are 0-11. With just five games remaining in the season, only one appears winnable. Clashes @ New England and Baltimore, and then at home against Tennessee and Houston appear beyond the realms of miracle, leaving only the final week game @ Jacksonville as the chance to avoid a winless year.

Personally, it's hard to see how the Colts will manage to find even the one win, meaning they will join the pitiful ranks of winless NFL teams in history.