The names, Manning and Brady and Favre, simply roll off the tongue. They are the triumvirate of current sure-fire Hall of Famers, and all of them are having great seasons.

So who leads the NFL in passing yards so far this year? Can you guess?

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The answer, somewhat surprisingly, is Matt Schaub, the anonymous quarterback of the Houston Texans.

Schaub comes to town Sunday with 2,342 yards, 115 more than the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning, albeit with one more game played. New England’s Tom Brady is fifth with 2,032 yards and Minnesota’s Brett Favre is eighth with 1,925.

Most importantly, Schaub has the Texans (5-3) off to the best start in the franchise’s eight-year history.

The sixth-year pro concerns himself with victories, not if he belongs in the conversation with some of the game’s elite passers.

“That’s not really for me to decide and understand. I’m still trying to come into my own,” he said. "As long as people are starting to realize who the Houston Texans are, what we bring to the table, how hard we play and we’re doing good things, that’s the most important thing.

“I’m not worried about how people view me. I’m just trying to help my team win. Hopefully, down the road, that will come to be noticed. But it’s about what we’re doing here as a group.”

The Texans, after failing to progress with former No. 1 overall selection David Carr, made a 2007 draft-day deal with Atlanta to acquire Schaub, who had been a backup to Michael Vick for three years. It cost Houston a switch of first-round picks as well as two second-round choices.

Houston coach Gary Kubiak used to be the quarterbacks coach in Denver, and one of the many things he learned from working with John Elway is that a great player at the position can make all the difference.

“In this league, if you’ve got a great quarterback, you’ve got a chance to win, week in and week out. Those guys are the difference-makers,” said Kubiak, whose Texans have finished 8-8 the past two years.

“Hopefully, we can keep him in one piece and keep him here for a long time.”

In addition to the passing yards, Schaub is first in completions (188), tied for first in touchdown passes (16), ranks fifth in completion percentage at 66.4 and his 100.5 passer rating ranks seventh.

The touchdown total shows how much he has progressed. His 16 scoring passes are one better than his previous career best, which came last year. It doesn’t hurt to have one of the NFL’s most talented receivers in Andre Johnson. And until last week, he had one of the best tight ends in Owen Daniels, who was lost to a season-ending knee injury.

“The more games you play, the more stadiums you go to and the more defenses you see, you’re going to have that progress and you’re going to get better,” Kubiak said. “He’s much more comfortable in what we’re doing and what he’s doing. And we’ve played much better around him.”

The success has fostered excitement and anticipation in a city that has been craving a pro football winner since the Oilers left for Tennessee in 1997. The players are well aware of it. Since the preseason, Schaub said they’ve discussed how much it would mean to make the playoffs for the first time.

“That’s always in the back of our mind, our goal,” he said. "But, at the same time, once the real live bullets start flying, you take a lot of time and you try to put your blinders on. You try to put together wins, and once you get to December, you look up and see where you’re at.’’