Texans fear worst, hope for best with Brian Cushing

• Cushing left Monday night's win in the second quarter after being injured on a chop block.
• A report surfaced early Tuesday morning that Cushing has suffered a torn ACL.
• The question moving forward is whether or not the block in question should be legal.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- There was a single-file line of Houston Texans players up the walkway between the MetLife Stadium field and the visitors' locker room, and it was backed up because everyone wanted to give Brian Cushing a handshake and a hug.

Cushing leaned on his crutches and greeted all of his victorious teammates in a scene far more somber than one for a team that had just extended its record to 5-0.

During a brief interview with USA TODAY Sports, Cushing wouldn't guess about the extent of the injury, but the Texans' faces indicated they were fearing the worst. And early Tuesday morning, The Bergen (NJ) Record reported it's a torn ACL for the former first-round pick and 2009 defensive rookie of the year.

"Hoping for the best right now," Cushing told USA TODAY Sports as he made his way out of the stadium, only a few miles from his hometown of Park Ridge, N.J. "Obviously, it could be everything with the knee or nothing in the knee. It's a knee injury, and we'll see (after tests Tuesday)."

Said coach Gary Kubiak: "I don't want to jump the gun here … but obviously we're very concerned."

The injury itself was enough to shake the Texans' spirits after their 23-17 victory over the New York Jets. Making matters worse for them, though, was how it happened -- on a cut block by Jets guard Matt Slauson, who went low on Cushing after the linebacker had initially made a move to avoid him while trying to track a run by Tim Tebow.

Though Cushing's teammates had yet to see the play, they were bothered by the descriptions they'd heard of Slauson diving for Cushing's legs on a play that was going the other way, a move that's technically legal but doesn't sit well with defensive players.

Cushing, who had a big brace on his left leg, was trying his best to take it in stride.

"I got cut. I got cut on a run play. It happens," Cushing said when asked if he was aware what had happened. "I was just keeping my head up. Whatever happens, happens. It's football. It's part of the game."

A part that made a few folks angry.

"Yeah, well, I would be too if it would've happened to someone else," Cushing said. "But it happened to me, and I've been on the other side of that, so I know how it goes."

Cushing's teammates weren't so understanding.

"I mean, they protect the offense. That's kind of what they do," said defensive end J.J. Watt, who had another monster game with a key sack in the fourth quarter, a tip that led to an interception and another batted ball to save a touchdown. "It's a tough situation. I mean, I understand. Football's a rough game, and I haven't seen the play so I can't comment on the play. But it's a tough game.

"Hopefully it was a legal play because you hate illegal plays, especially when players are injured. That's not what you want."

It apparently was a legal play. The question that's been asked in the past and will be asked moving forward, especially in light of Cushing's injury, is whether it should be legal. Slauson and Cushing were within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage, which is the designated area in which linemen can go low to block a player.

Though Slauson didn't break a written rule, he appears to have dealt a huge blow to the Texans' defense.

"That's a tough situation. That's our leader, that's our middle linebacker, that's our guy," said Watt, who continues to make an early push for defensive player of the year. "To see that is tough so we played the second half for 'Cush.' We won this game in Cush's home state."

Echoing the win-one-for-Cushing theme was outside linebacker Brooks Reed, who realized the severity of the situation as soon as Cushing was clutching his knee.

"I just saw him lying down. He's usually not lying down," Reed said, adding: "We know what he means to our team. That win is dedicated to him."

The Texans still have plenty of playmakers on defense, though they just lost a presence for which offenses much account.

"Oh man, it'll do a lot. A lot of changes will be made," safety Danieal Manning said. "Personnel-wise, guys will have to come in and step up. I believe some of our play calls will maybe adjust."

Perhaps that's the realization that contributed to that eerily quiet scene outside the Texans' locker room and inside as well.

"It was a little quiet," Reed said of Kubiak's postgame speech. "It was kind of weird."

Not as weird as it'll be in the Texans' defensive huddle without Cushing.