The battlefield promotion of Texans center Greg Mancz into the starting lineup was triggered by the high-ankle sprain suffered by starting rookie center Nick Martin.
A former undrafted free agent from Toledo, Mancz has impressed his fellow offensive linemen with his blocking and attitude.
The learning curve for Mancz is critical to the Texans' offense.
A self-described lunch pail guy, Mancz is applying that blue-collar work ethic to learning the nuances of the center position.
"It's going good," Texans left tackle Chris Clark said. "Mancz is a great guy. We knew it since the first day he got here.