Andre Johnson will have his hands full with Denver CB Champ Bailey on Sunday. (US Presswire)

The Texans will face their toughest test of the young 2012 season Sunday when they travel to Denver to take on the Broncos. On Wednesday, Houston players and coaches were very complimentary of their next opponent, especially Denver’s defense.

Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison told reporters Wednesday that the speed of Denver’s defense really stands out. Through the first two weeks, the Broncos defense is second in the NFL -- the Texans are first -- allowing 4.1 yards per play.

“They offer a lot of different things with their team speed and how they do in their aggressive bunch,” Dennison said. “We’ll have our work cut out for us.”

The Texans offensive line will have to deal with Denver LB Von Miller and DE Elvis Dumervil on the edge. Miller already has three sacks this season.

“Well, Dumervil is more of a power guy,” LT Duane Brown said. “He likes to get up the field but then try to use his power to press pocket. Whereas Von Miller is, I think, more athletic and really shifty, and has a pretty good bag of moves. Both very talented, and they switch sides so you have to prepare for both of them.”

WR Andre Johnson will have his hands full on the outside with CB Champ Bailey. Johnson called Bailey “a future hall of famer” on Wednesday.

“It will be a great challenge for me to go up against arguably the best cornerback in the game and one of the best to ever do it,” Johnson said.

Quick Hits

  • Coach Gary Kubiak told reporters that LB Tim Dobbins (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday and would be a game-time decision Sunday. Kubiak also said he was hopeful LB Bryan Braman (hamstring) would play this week.
  • The Texans are treating Denver’s altitude as a non-issue. “I’m not even thinking about it,” FB James Casey said. “You don’t want to psychologically psych yourself out going into it. We feel like we have one of the toughest places to have training camp in Houston -- with the heat and humidity we deal with. So hopefully it won’t be that big of an issue.”
  • Kubiak said the coaches split time between RBs Arian Foster and Ben Tate based on the feel of the game. “I think we’re going to go into the game with a set way how we’re going to start,” Kubiak said of the running back rotation. “How we’re going to finish, I don’t know. I think it all depends on the flow of the game. It could vary from week to week.”

Follow Texans blogger Sean Bielawski on Twitter, @CBSTexans.