Safety Bernard Pollard dives across the goal line for a touchdown after he recovered a fumble.

It's halftime in the Jets-Bengals game and barring a miracle, the Houston Texans will fail to make the playoffs for the eight consecutive playoffs. Houston fans can spend the entire offseason saying "what if" and talking about all of the negatives of this season, but I am going to talk about the positives.

With the Texans win against the Patriots Sunday, they clinched their first winning season in franchise history.

Matt Schaub showed what he can do when healthy for an entire season: 4,770 yards (sixth most all-time in a season). More than 1,500 of those came from the best wide receiver in the NFL in Andre Johnson. The 9-7 record was done with three starting offensive linemen and a Pro Bowl tight end out for the majority of the season.

The Texans have four Pro Bowl players - the most that the team has sent to the Pro Bowl in its franchise history.

Houston's run defense was among one of the best in the NFL after Week 4 and appears to have another franchise linebacker in Brian Cushing, who should win Defensive Rookie of the Year. For the first time in eight years, the Texans have a big-play safety in Bernard Pollard who they were lucky enough to pick up from free agency.

In the final three games, Gary Kubiak finally found his running back in rookie Arian Foster, who will likely earn himself a contract extension during the offseason.

Kasey Studdard and Antoine Caldwell both came in for injured offensive linemen and play exceptionally well as a part of an offensively line which only allowed 25 sacks on the season.

The Texans learned how to win on the road, going 5-3 and owning a winning road record for the first time. The Texans also gained a great blogger - me, of course.

But here is what I see happening or at least hoping to happen over the offseason:

-- Gary Kubiak will return as head coach. He did all he can and, for the most part, made the right calls. He is the type of coach that acts professional and not like a cheerleader (see Wade Phillips). His players appreciate him and would like nothing more than to have him back.

-- Kris Brown and Chris Brown will not be back next season. Bob McNair has been loyal to Kris and Chris all season, but both appear to be headed out of Houston. Kris is the only Texan to play in every game in franchise history and is known for his great community service that he does in the Houston area, but it is time to let him go. Kris should have been off the team five weeks ago, but Kubiak, McNair and Co. had faith in their kicker, who had been reliable for the most part in his first seven seasons in Houston. But his performance this season was inexcusable.

-- The big move that I would like to see the Texans get is wide receiver Brandon Marshall. I know he has had trouble behaving in Denver, but just think about how dangerous an offense with Johnson and Marshall.

-- Re-sign Owen Daniels. Do not resign Dunta Robinson. Draft a cornerback in the first round and second round and maybe even the third round. The secondary has been a problem every year. It is time to change that.

For now I am off to Pasadena, Calif., for the BCS National Championship. Hook 'em Horns!
--- DAN HURWITZ.