Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips returned to the practice field Wednesday, two weeks after undergoing kidney and gall bladder surgery. Phillips went on medical leave Dec. 14. Houston linebackers coach Reggie Herring ran the defense in his absence, and the Texans lost their next two games.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak says he will stick with rookie quarterback T.J. Yates despite the team's recent struggles. Houston has lost two straight after seven consecutive wins. "I think T.J. continues to do some good things," Kubiak said. "I think he continues to get better, and like I said, for where we're heading here, he needs to continue to get better, and we just got to trust him and move forward." Texans added Jake Delhomme and Jeff Garcia in recent weeks.

Texans star wide receiver Andre Johnson will sit out Thursday night's game against the Colts because of a strained left hamstring. Johnson, who will miss his ninth game this season, was sidelined for six straight games earlier in the year with a right hamstring injury that required surgery. Houston coach Gary Kubiak said Tuesday that Johnson is "very close" to returning to practice, but isn't quite ready.

With Cam Newton under center, the Panthers used a trick play from a popular kids movie to score a touchdown against the Texans. Carolina offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski borrowed a hidden-ball trick play loosely adapted from a play called "the annexation of Puerto Rico" from the 1994 movie the Little Giants to help his team beat the Texans 28-13. The play resulted in a seven-yard touchdown run by fullback Richie Brockel. "Cam's ability to run and throw, it just adds another dimension," coach Ron Rivera said. "It has been kind of neat to see the different things we've been able to do with him over the course of the season and show he's an integral part of what we are and what we're going to become." The Panthers ran the play in the second quarter of Sunday's game against Texans while leading 14-0 and faced with a second-and-6 at the Texans 7-yard line.

Panthers tight end Jeremy Shockey criticized members of the Texans for not putting their hands over their hearts during the national anthem on Sunday. Shockey says he saw "about 10 players" who didn't do the traditional gesture when the anthem is played and he told some of them how he felt during Carolina's 28-13 victory. "I was pretty upset in the way they weren't showing respect to America during the national anthem," Shockey said. "This is America and you should at least give respect to America." Shockey's rant came in response to a reporter's question about Houston's defense. "This is America and this is just a game and they should not only be very proud of this country, but very gifted to be living here," Shockey said. "Maybe they just forgot to do it or something, but I don't see how you could forget to do that." Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans fired back at Shockey when he heard of the comments. "If he's so patriotic, why was he looking at our bench instead of the flag?" Ryans said. "Where did he come up with the number 10? Was he counting? Why was he paying attention to us during the national anthem?"

The Texans have released a statement updating the condition of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who is improving after surgery on his kidney and gall bladder. "The medical staff is very pleased with Wade Phillips continued improvement," the statement read. "He has been out of bed and will be up walking today. He is appreciative to all that have inquired about him and he is very anxious to get back to the football field." Phillips underwent surgery Thursday after the team announced the previous day he would be forced to take a medical leave because of the operation for a condition which the 64-year-old Phillips said was neither life-threatening nor cancerous.

Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson will miss his second straight game with a strained left hamstring on Sunday when the Texans host Carolina. Johnson was injured running a route against Atlanta on Dec. 4. He missed last week's 20-19 win at Cincinnati which clinched Houston's first AFC South title and playoff berth. He was bothered by a right hamstring injury earlier this season.

The Texans say Wade Phillips is in stable condition after undergoing surgery on his kidney and gall bladder. The team announced Wednesday that Phillips would take a medical leave to have a surgical procedure. The 64-year-old Phillips said after Wednesday's practice that he expected to miss a week to 10 days to recover. He said his condition was not life-threatening and non-cancerous.

Wade Phillips, the coach who has turned the Houston defense into the NFL's best, is taking medical leave to have an unspecified surgical procedure this week. The Texans said Wednesday that Phillips is expected to return this season, which will include the expansion team's first playoff game.

T.J. Yates could have been the savior for the Colts this season, instead he has stepped in for two injured quarterbacks and helped lead the Texans to the playoffs. Houston drafted Yates in the fifth round of April's NFL Draft and he has risen from the No. 3 spot in the wake of injuries to Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart. "We were getting ready to draft him in the very same round," Colts vice chairman Bill Polian said on his radio show Monday evening. "Houston picked before us if I'm not mistaken. "Should we have taken him a round earlier? Yes, without question." In fact, the Colts didn't have a pick in the round prior.