Andre Johnson insists that if his injured hamstring isn’t ready by game time on Sunday, he will not play against the Jaguars this weekend.

Johnson has been out since October 2 when he hurt his hamstring during the Texans’ 17-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He caught four passes for 36 yards before leaving the game after being attended to on the field by team trainers. While he returned to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday, Johnson doesn’t sound optimistic about his chances of returning this weekend.

“I felt a lot better in practice, but not where I want to be,” said Johnson, who still feels a “tugging” in the back of his leg. “If I don’t feel like I can play, I’m not going to go out there. I definitely won’t do anything to put myself in any danger.”

While that news might sound deflating to Houston fans (as well as fantasy football owners), it’s probably the mindset Johnson needs to have. If he pushes too hard too soon he could wind up aggravating the injury or making it worse, which would shelve him a lot longer than had he just let it heal. With the Texans in prime position to win the AFC South this year, they’re going to need Johnson down the stretch and into the postseason.

Zach Miller caught 11 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough as the Texans beat the Raiders, 31-24.

Like the All-Pro tandem of Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller, Bruce Gradkowski and Miller are starting to click. In the two games that Gradkowski has started, Miller has 15 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Miller.

What was even more impressive than Miller’s day was the fact that the Texans still racked up 31 points despite not having Andre Johnson (high ankle sprain) and Arian Foster missing the first quarter because he was being punished. (Apparently he missed a meeting last week and was late for another, so Gary Kubiak sat him.)

Apparently Foster got the message because when he finally came into the game, he rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. On top of rushing for 8.2 yards a clip, he also broke free on a 74-yard touchdown run to give Houston a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter.

Schaub was also solid, completing 16-of-29 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. The key difference between him and Gradkowski was that the Oakland QB threw two interceptions along with his two touchdowns and 278 yards. Still, Gradkowski continues to provide a spark for the Raiders’ offense, which means we won’t see Jason Campbell anytime soon.

The Raiders are about where everyone thought they’d be at this point in the season: sitting with a losing record.

The Titans crushed them in Week 1, they hung on to beat the Rams in Week 2 and Sebastian Janikowski missed a 32-yard field goal in the closing seconds against Arizona last week that would have put them at 2-1.

But at least Al Davis’ team has shown that they have a pulse and a lot of that has to do with the spark that quarterback Bruce Gradkowski has given them. According to ESPN.com, his 10.6 yards per attempt average leads all NFL quarterbacks this season, which provides some proof that he’s throwing the ball vertically and staying aggressive in the passing game.

After Davis acquired Jason Campbell from the Redskins this offseason, not many people expected Gradkowski to be leading this team so early in the season. But he’s playing well and now has a golden opportunity to make a name for himself if he can lead Oakland to a victory over Houston this weekend.

The Texans currently rank 31st in total defense and 32nd in pass defense. They start a rookie in Kareem Jackson at one corner and a second-year player in Glover Quin at the other. There’s no need to make Gradkowski out to be Peyton Manning, but he could definitely do some damage against the young, inexperienced secondary that he’ll face this weekend.

Houston may also be depleted, as Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels have both missed practice this week with injuries. Johnson says he’ll play, but a high ankle sprain has left him sore throughout the week and Daniels is dealing with a hamstring injury (and is still recovering from knee surgery). It should go without saying that teams can’t overlook any opponent in the NFL, but that’s especially the case this Sunday for the Texans when they travel to Oakland.

Could there be an upset in the making?

Andre Johnson isn’t 100% healthy. He wasn’t 100% last week and if doctors deem him healthy enough to play this Sunday, he won’t be 100% then either.

With that in mind, should the Texans hold him out against a beatable opponent in the Raiders this Sunday? Or do they run him out there because he’s played through injuries before and every game is vital in the NFL?

Johnson suffered a high ankle sprain against the Redskins in Week 2 and aggravated it in Houston’s loss to Dallas last Sunday. The Texans’ team doctors claim that the injury is no better or worse than what it was a week ago, but Johnson says that it feels “more sore” this week than it did when he played on it in Washington.

If the Texans decide to hold him out in Oakland, that means Matt Schaub will have to get by with Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter in the passing game. It would be nice if tight end Owen Daniels were healthy enough to have an impact, but he’s still trying to recover from knee surgery and the team is taking it slow with bringing him back into the fold.

Houston could probably beat Oakland with a run-first approach and solid defensive play, but every game is crucial in the NFL and no opponent can be overlooked. That’s why if Johnson is healthy enough to play, it’ll be hard for Gary Kubiak to rest him, even though that may be the smart thing to do.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Texans handle things this Sunday. Johnson has played through pain plenty of times before, so he may give it a go and then reassess the situation after a couple of series. If he’s fine, then there’s no reason to keep him on the sidelines.

AJ owners are waiting with bated breath to see whether or not he plays on Sunday. It’s an afternoon game, which complicates matters, because it makes it more difficult to find a last-minute replacement if he is an injury scratch. Ideally, fantasy owners have Jacoby Jones or Kevin Walter to plug in if AJ sits. But that’s not always an option. My gut says that he’ll play; I don’t think he wants to sit knowing that he’ll miss a matchup with Nnamdi Asomugha. Fantasy owners with solid early-game options on the bench — I’m talking about guys ranked in the teens or 20′s — should go ahead and plug them in for AJ. In three matchups with Asomugha, Johnson has totaled five catches for 94 yards and zero touchdowns, so this is a bad matchup, anyway. Throw in the bum ankle and the late-game uncertainty, and it makes more sense to go with the safer option in a better matchup.

Westbrook missing practice, listed as questionable. The general consensus is that Westy isn’t going to play, and even if he did, he wouldn’t be that strong of a play against a pretty stout Giants defense. Make other plans.

Andre Johnson ‘ready to go’ for Week 8. The Bills have a pretty tough pass defense so there’s a chance that AJ isn’t going to have a big game. But this is Andre Johnson we’re talking about, so he should be in your lineup unless you have great option to turn to.

Mario Manningham questionable with a shoulder injury. If he doesn’t play, this is a substantial upgrade for Hakeem Nicks and a minor upgrade for Steve Smith 2.0. The Eagles aren’t a great matchup for either player, but they’re startable, and that’s something.

Calvin Johnson questionable for Week 8. The general consensus is that he won’t play, but with an early kickoff on Sunday, it’s worth waiting for. Since they’re facing the Rams (and it looks like Matthew Stafford will be back) Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt are sleepers if C. Johnson is out.

Jerricho Cotchery expected to return to action. I’m a little worried about how Braylon Edwards’s arrival is going to affect Cotchery’s targets, but he’s a decent WR2/WR3 start this week against the Dolphins, who aren’t great against the pass.