The Sports Xchange

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans plan to maintain the same offensive line alignment Thursday night against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium, according to head coach Bill O’Brien.

That means Oday Aboushi will start at left guard ahead of Xavier Su’a-Filo. Su’a-Filo played 20 snaps in relief of Aboushi, who played 57 snaps.

“It’s getting back to doing your reps and doing your assignments and hitting people,” Texans offensive coordinator George Godsey said of Su’a-Filo.

The Texans will start Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown, center Ben Jones, right guard Brandon Brooks and right tackle Derek Newton.

Brown is playing through a broken right thumb and returned against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Brooks returned from a sprained left ankle.

Su’a-Filo made his season debut during the loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Su’a-Filo played in 20 snaps, 37 less than starting left guard Oday Aboushi.

It marked Su’a-Filo’s first playing time since his rookie season when the second-round draft pick from UCLA played in 13 games with one start. Su’a-Filo had been inactive for the first three games, sidelined with a lingering calf injury.

“I definitely got to improve,” Su’a-Filo said. “I just tried to jump in and do what’s asked of me and do my job. It’s always more fun when you win, but it was nice to be back out there again. I’m trying to work hard and contribute to the team.”

–The Texans may be coming off an ugly loss in Atlanta that dropped them to 3-1, but nose tackle Vince Wilfork says anyone who thinks they’re sulking around is sorely mistaken.

“We’re the same ol’, same ol,’” Wilfork said. “This is what we do for a living. Nobody’s moping around, feeling sorry for ourselves. We just gotta play better and we understand that, turn the page and move on. All our energy is geared toward the Colts and winning this ball game Thursday night.

“It’s about playing smarter. If we just clean up that area, we’ll be a different looking football team. I think everybody came back to work focused and ready. That’s what we needed for this quick of a turnaround.”

Wilfork, who spent 11 seasons with the Patriots and won Super Bowls in his first and last years there, said the Texans must “eliminate bad football. At times we don’t (execute the defense) and it costs us. The plays we’re giving up are the big plays, the kind that hurt us. We’ve got to eliminate that and we’ve yet to do it. It’s killing us. It’s killing this team.

“But no matter what we’re going to stick together. We’re all we have and we understand that. We’ve got to continue to fight hard together, put pressure on one another and hold each other accountable. Hopefully, it will pay off this week. There’s nothing else to do right now but to put your head down and keep pushing forward.”