KEEPING IT RAHEEL
The Houston Texans head into the weekend with a 6-3 record facing the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC showdown.
Houston's offense has a different feel this year, so let's take a look at why that's the case.
ESPN 97.5's Raheel Ramzanali dives into the statistics and finds 3 important numbers that explain why the Texans have had more success on offense this year.
After dropping the opener to the Ravens on Sunday, the Texans welcome rookie QB Anthony Richardson and the Indianapolis Colts to Houston for the first divisional game of the season.
The Texans beat the Colts in the finale last year, and tied with the Colts in the first game of the season in 2022. So this is a team the Texans have a real chance at beating.
Vegas has the Texans as 1-point favorites at home, and we expect to see some improvement from CJ Stroud against the Colts' underwhelming pass defense. And this year they're without star cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who was traded to the Cowboys in the offseason.
Indianapolis lost to the Jaguars last week, but Richardson looked pretty good in his debut, scoring two touchdowns in the defeat.
CJ Stroud should have more time to get the ball out this Sunday, which will hopefully lead to more aggressive throws downfield, as Stroud only threw one pass that traveled 20 yards or more against Baltimore.
But he did record 28 completions, which ties him with Trevor Lawrence for the 4th most completions in an NFL debut, per NFL Rookie Watch.
CJ Stroud joined Trevor Lawrence yesterday for 4th most completions ever (28) in an NFL debut.
Only Kyler Murray, Mac Jones, and Sam Bradford had more in their debut’s.
Stroud also finished yesterday with the 8th most passing yards (242) in the entire league.
That was more… pic.twitter.com/x7QksbZE8m
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) September 11, 2023
Taking some shots downfield should also loosen things up for Dameon Pierce and the Texans running game. Pierce clearly needs to be more involved, having only 13 total touches last week.
Make sure you watch the video above for the full Texans-Colts preview!
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