The Texans know they've got to turn this season around - soon.

"The time is now," Johnson said. "We're suffering some adversity right now, but guys are determined to get it turned around and I'm sure we can go out and get it turned around."

Houston lost to AFC South foe Tennessee on Sunday and faces fellow division opponents Jacksonville and Indianapolis in the next two weeks. They're hoping to improve on last season's 1-5 record in the AFC South.

Matt Schaub, who's thrown five interceptions and one touchdown this season, thinks everyone has to try to make a difference for things to improve.

"We have to have a sense of urgency this week," he said. "We can't wait for someone else to make a play or something to happen, we have to make the play ourselves. If as a group we all take that mind-set, good things will happen."

Johnson, who joined the team in its second year, endured four losing seasons before last year's 8-8 finish.

"How much losing can you take?" he asked. "It's real frustrating, but at the same time I'm willing to work through it and all the other guys here are willing to work through it."

The star receiver has been beating himself up this week after dropping a couple of passes in the loss to the Titans, including one in the end zone.

Asked how he can lead the Texans and get the team back on track he responded: "I can start off by not dropping balls."

The solution is likely not that simple, but Johnson believes a Texans win Sunday could go a long way for this struggling team and give it something positive to build on.

"One win could change a lot," he said. "It changes the thinking of a team, it puts guys in a good mood. It's a feeling that you never want to go away."

Linebacker DeMeco Ryans' words to his teammates at halftime of the Tennessee game fired up Houston's defense up for a solid second half. He's hoping they continue to take his advice to get out of this slump.

"If we expect change, we've got to do something different," he said. "I think that is just raising our energy level, our intensity level and keeping that going throughout games."

Ryans knows the team can play better than they've shown in the first two games and thinks a key to success in the future will be to forget about what's in the past and only look ahead.

Houston played one game before having its bye early because of Hurricane Ike. Some thought the Texans may have struggled against the Titans because they were still distracted by the hurricane.

"There's not a reason, there's not an excuse," Ryans said. "We were well prepared to play and the hurricane didn't have anything to do with our performance."

Notes: RB Ahman Green returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis for the first time since spraining his ankle in Week 1 against the Steelers. Coach Gary Kubiak isn't sure if he'll play on Sunday, but has already said Steve Slaton will start regardless of Green's health.