Browns 10, Texans 7

5 observations from the Browns' 10-7 win over the Texans

5 observations from the Browns' 10-7 win over the Texans
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The good news? The Texans defense played one of its better games. The bad? The offense played its worst. The result was an ugly, bad weather 10-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Texans fall to 2-7 on the season and there is absolutely zero left to play for in 2020. Five observations from the loss:

1) Deshaun Watson has to be the best quarterback on the field for the Texans to win games. That was barely the case in this one. Baker Mayfield was not good, but Watson missed throws and did not make many plays in key situations. While he didn't turn the ball over, he also did nothing until late in the fourth quarter to get his team points. Watson's two sacks were clearly on him, and he had under 90 yards passing heading into the fourth quarter. The wind was clearly a factor, but great players overcome that. On Sunday, Watson did not.

2) Hey, at least they ran the ball better. Duke Johnson gave the Texans better play at running back than David Johnson did all year. It still wasn't great, but at least he made some plays and had 54 yards on 14 carries. Still not good enough, but at least he was not a complete zero like his predecessor. This has to be a major off-season priority for the team; finding two serviceable running backs. But Duke's performance just underscored how awful David has been.

3) The defense did its part. The Browns were going to get yards on the ground against the Texans because everyone does. They piled up 213 yards on 41 carries and as usual, the defense wore down in the second half and could not stop the run to give the offense one last chance. But holding the Browns to 10 points should have been enough to win the game. J.J. Watt had a solid game, and the secondary had its best performance of the season. It probably helped that Mayfield was inaccurate for most of the contest, but the defense did not give up big plays until Nick Chubb's clinching burst at the end. It should have been enough.

4) Zach Cunningham has become a bright spot. After signing his big deal, Cunningham started off the year in horrible fashion, with bad mistakes, being out of position and stupid penalties. He had a lot of tackles, but many were empty, down-the-field types and he was not being a playmaker. But the last two weeks, he has looked like the player they are paying him to be. He is stuffing plays, flying all over the field and not making mistakes. It's interesting he has played better since Tyrell Adams replaced the injured Bernardrick McKinney. The Texans have very few players on defense that will be part of their rebuilding process. They need Cunningham to be one, and he is starting to look like he can.

5) Romeo Crennel's coaching was a lot like that guy before him. Going for it on fourth down inside the five early in the game proved to be costly when a chippy field goal would have tied the game. Then choosing a field goal on fourth and two late in the game (and of course it was a miss) showed inconsistency in his decision making. Your kicker should be able to make that, but the wind being such a factor, it was 50-50 at best. And for the Texans, it was the wrong side of the coin. And in the first instance on fourth down, the whole world knew the QB draw was coming. They needed a better play call. He also burned two timeouts in the second half that were desperately needed late.

The bottom line: In the end, the Texans and Browns aren't that much different. The Browns are a phony 6-3, the Texans are a well-deserved 2-7, but theses teams are pretty close. Watson should have been the difference for Houston, but in the end, he and the offense did not do enough.

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The Texans will look to get back on track this Sunday against the Colts. Composite Getty Image.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”

The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.

They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.

Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.

Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.

“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”

Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.

What's working

The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.

Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.

What needs help

The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.

Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.

Stock up

RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.

Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.

“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”

Stock down

Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.

Injuries

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.

Key number

3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.

Next steps

The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.

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