Primetime football
Texans defense takes significant hits in 42-34 loss to Chiefs
Oct 8, 2017, 9:08 pm
Deshaun Watson had a big game, but the Texans defense lost two key cogs. Bob Levey/Getty Images
(For another view, check out Brien O'Donal's article on houstonsportsandstuff.com).
The Texans lost a game and two of their best players Sunday night.
J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus were lost for the season in Sunday night's 42-34 loss to Kansas City.
The Chiefs' Alex Smith was terrific all night, especially on third downs. They converted 7 of 10 in the first half alone and kept the Texans offense off the field.
Without Watt and Mercilus, the Texans defense was awful, and they had little chance.
Deshaun Watson was amazing once again, with five TD passes. He continues to produce points and yards and is well on his way to becoming a star. But it wasn't enough.
Watson completed just 16 of 31 passes, but threw for the five TDs and ran three times for 31 yards. He was awesome, but the Texans defense was gashed without Watt and Mercilus.
The Texans fell to 2-3 on the season, while the Chiefs are 5-0.
Smith continues to play like an MVP for KC. He was 29 of 37 for 324 yards and three TDs and was at his best on third down.
Now the Texans are left with a below average defense. DC Mike Vrabel's play calling was questionable to begin with, and without Watt and Mercilus, they are up against it. Watson's emergence can't overcome that.
In a few short weeks, the Texans have gone from a team with an elite defense and anemic offense to having a great offense and no defense.
The good news is they get Cleveland next week and have some time to figure out what to do.
But the Texans lost more than a football game Sunday night. How they respond will define their season.
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It should come as no surprise that after a slow start to the season, fans and media are starting to voice concerns about the organization's leadership and direction. The latest evidence of this involved Astros adviser Reggie Jackson and the comments he made on Jon Heyman's podcast, The Show.
Jackson discussed the Astros reported interest in starting pitcher Blake Snell. He said that ultimately, Snell was looking for a deal the Astros weren't comfortable with in terms of money and structure of the contract.
Which is interesting considering the Astros were okay with paying 5-years, $95 million for closer Josh Hader, but not willing to pay Snell 2-years, $62 million. We believe the opt-outs in Snell's contract were a dealbreaker for Houston. And of course the money played a role.
However, the Astros passing on Snell is not the intriguing part of the story. It was Jackson talking about the club's power structure in the front office and how they go about making decisions.
“Being fiscally responsible is what kicked us out of the Snell deal… That's too much for him… Between the 4 or 5 people who make decisions with the Astros, we don't play that game,” said Jackson.
Based on Jackson's comments in the interview, the decision makers are Jim Crane, Dana Brown, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Reggie. But not necessarily in that order. He also mentioned that they had conversations with manager Joe Espada and his staff, plus some input from the analytics department.
These comments add to the concerns we've had about the front office since Crane moved on from GM James Click and operated without a general manager for several months. Which led to the disastrous signing of Jose Abreu and to a lesser extent Rafael Montero.
Which begs the question, are the Astros in a better spot now with their front office? Many blame Dana Brown for the state of the starting rotation. While there were some red flags this spring, anticipating injuries to Jose Urquidy, Justin Verlander, and Framber Valdez is asking a lot.
But only bringing in Hader to replace all the innings left behind by Hector Neris, Phil Maton, Kendall Graveman, and Ryne Stanek always felt risky.
Finally, what can the Astros due in the short-term to weather the storm while Framber and JV rehab from injury?
And is Hunter Brown the biggest liability in the rotation?
Be sure to watch the video above for the full in-depth discussion.