After Monday night’s debacle in New England, seemingly every facet of the Texans has come into question as Houston’s merit as a legit Super Bowl contender is debated around the country.

Was the 42-14 loss to the Patriots a sign that these Texans aren’t yet ready to compete for a Super Bowl? Or was it merely a road block, something that a Houston franchise still new to these stakes can learn from?

“We’ve got issues,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “We’ve got to stop people better. We’ve got to move the ball better. We’ve got to get rid of penalties on special teams. It’s always going to be something. That’s football. But we know the things that we’ve got to clean up to get more consistent in our play, and we definitely weren’t going to get away with the team we were playing [Monday] night.”

What Monday night did was bring those issues to the forefront on national television. Unless Houston addresses the weaknesses it faces, its second consecutive trip to the playoffs could be a brief one.

“I’m concerned about a lot of things,” Kubiak said. “But it’s part of the situation that we’re in. There are things you have to fight through.”

New England QB Tom Brady took advantage of an increasingly problematic Houston pass defense. Brady threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the latest quarterback to carve up the Texans secondary.

In their last four games, the Texans have given up an average of 336.3 passing yards per game, and Houston has allowed 11 passing touchdowns compared to just four interceptions. Three of those picks came courtesy of Titans QB Jake Locker and the other was in garbage time Monday against Ryan Mallett.

Those struggles have been magnified against quarterbacks of Brady’s ilk. In the 42-24 home loss to Green Bay in Week 6, Aaron Rodgers threw for 338 yards and six touchdowns.

Injuries have not helped matters in the back end. CB Johnathan Joseph has been slowed by a hamstring injury that forced him to miss two games before returning Monday. CB Brice McCain has been placed on injured reserve with a foot injury, and CB Alan Ball has missed the last two games with a foot injury.

Those injuries have forced the Texans to accelerate the development of some younger players, specifically second-year CB Brandon Harris, who has taken McCain’s spot as the team's nickel back. Harris had the unenviable task of matching up with Patriots WR Wes Welker in the slot Monday night.

“He’s got confidence, and you’ve got to be able to do that,” Kubiak said. “I see a player who’s getting better and he’s getting a big opportunity. He’s got to continue to improve. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him.”

Offensively, Schaub has played well this year, ranking tenth in the NFL in passer rating (92.7) with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but whether it is good enough to win a Super Bowl is a question that can only be answered in the playoffs, somewhere Schaub has never been.

The quarterbacks who have led their teams to Super Bowl appearances in the last five years are a select group -- Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers.

No one puts Schaub in that category right now, and he didn't do anything on a big stage Monday night to make many reconsider. He threw for 232 yards and had an interception in the first quarter that changed the course of the game.

“I have no concerns [about Schaub],” Kubiak said. “I think Matt led his team to a lot of wins this year. I think he’s done a fine job. He made a mistake with the ball [Monday] night in the red zone. The guy made a great play. Matt also made some great throws in that game. He can’t block the blitz. He’s got to do his job, but there’s a lot of people who have to help him, too. I’ve got no doubts about that at all.”

Even with these major question marks, the Texans are 11-2 and a game up on the Patriots for the top seed in the AFC. The magnitude of their two losses -- blowouts against New England and Green Bay -- has dominated the discussion, but Houston’s resume isn’t hollow.

Easily forgotten are the road wins at Denver and Chicago or the 30-point blowout of Baltimore, all three quality wins against probable playoff teams. On Sunday, Houston can clinch the AFC South with a win over Indianapolis.

“Our football team is in a very good situation,” Kubiak said. “We’re playing at home this week for an opportunity to win a division title. That’s a darn good thing.”

Follow Texans blogger Sean Bielawski on Twitter, @CBSTexans.