Plenty of decisions to make for the Texans, maybe even one including J.J. Watt
Texans are AFC South champs despite ugly win. Now what to do for Week 17?
Dec 23, 2019, 11:27 am
3 Headlines, 2 Questions, and 1 Bet ahead of the Texans regular season finale.
Winning ugly is better than losing pretty
O'Brien has now won four of the last six division championships.
— Cody Stoots (@Cody_Stoots) December 21, 2019
Since 2014, when he was hired, he has won a division title more than Sean Payton, John Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, and Mike Zimmer.
Of course, that has led to just one playoff win and no byes in first round. #Texans
The Texans won. Yes, it was ugly. Yes, it was a little disappointing. Yes, they probably should have blown out the Buccaneers.
A win is a win, even when it clinches the AFC South.
The Texans are AFC South champs for four of the past five seasons, and now four of the six and as my above tweet indicates, that's not bad.
Week 17 doesn't really matter for the Texans. They need to be ready for the 4-5 matchup and likely the Buffalo Bills.
The frustration is the same issues from games of the past popped up. Consistency on offense is seemingly dead. The in-game management is often times questionable, but has worked out a few times for Bill O'Brien. The defense is leaky. It doesn't feel championship quality. Well, it is AFC South champion quality. But there has to be more to the 2019 season than another banner.
Will Fuller's injury lingers yet again
#Texans speedy WR Will Fuller’s groin injury will keep him off the field in Week 17 and is likely a three-week injury, sources say following tests. Fuller has an outside chance to play in their first playoff game and will likely be available if they win and advance.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 23, 2019
Will Fuller is one of the most important players on this Texans team. He is also one of the most injured players. Fuller hasn't come close to playing a full season in his NFL career since his rookie year. This year soft tissue injuries have ruined his season. Yet again, he's hurt.
The team is so much better with him on the field. Everything is better. Specifically the passing game. That's a problem though. This offense shouldn't be built on success based off a speedy outside wide receiver being available. Bill O'Brien has to use the weapons he has better and so does Deshaun Watson. It is unacceptable for this offense to be so heavily reliant on Fuller's availability.
O'Brien's comments after the game were clear and this is as close to negative he comes at the podium about a player.
"He is a great guy and I love coaching him, but it is hard for him to stay healthy – that's the bottom line. Hopefully we can help him stay healthy because this team is a very good team when we have him in the lineup."
Trying to win games
BOB quote on implications of being locked into No. 4 seed if KC wins: "Any time we take the field, based on what we're all about ... we're about trying to win ... We realize all those things you just said are important factors to take in ... but we need to play to win the game." pic.twitter.com/YgNUuoSo1B
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) December 23, 2019
The Texans will take the field Sunday knowing exactly what spot in the playoffs they are locked into. The Chiefs play in the early game and if they win, they will be locked into the third seed pushing the Texans to the fourth seed.
It is incredible to ask the Texans to prepare for a relaxed game, see the Chiefs accidentally lose, and then try to gear back up for the game and try to get the third seed.
So you either try to win the game that likely doesn't matter or you relax for a week. In a game that doesn't matter, Deshaun Watson and Laremy Tunsil shouldn't play. Neither should DeAndre Hopkins. The numbers game gets funny, but the Texans could manage it.
Health ahead of the Bills should be the the most important thing for week 17.
Angelo Blockson...am I right?
ANGELO. BLACKSON.
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 21, 2019
His second blocked kick in as many weeks!#HOUvsTB pic.twitter.com/i4yHXPPLIp
Texans defensive lineman Angelo Blackson has blocked a field goal in back to back weeks. The Texans have won both of those games by three points. You do the math.
The thing that has impressed me about both the blocks is Blackson's ability to find himself in the kicking lane. He's adjusted one of his big paws to be in the trajectory of what the kicker needs to make the field goal. Obviously he has to get that hand free too.
A few colleagues of mine, as well as myself, wondered why Blackson was given the contract he was in the offseason. He has played well and frankly those two blocks have been worth the price of his deal. Bill O'Brien called him a fabric player and it is hard to disagree considering his performance this year.
Can Watt come back? I ask again, can Watt come back
Bill O'Brien didn't feel like talking about J.J. Watt much today. Makes sense. The more mystery, the better. Make the Bills start thinking about Watt. About having to block him with their inexperienced right side of their line. Ultimately the subterfuge might not matter.
Brian Gaine worked here. He hired plenty of people in this building. He now works for the Bills. Gaine will know exactly how well Watt is when the game rolls around.
If Watt can help, he should play. If he can be re-injured seriously it should be up to Watt if he wants to play. You certainly wouldn't want to pass up the chance Watt could come back. There could be something this week with perhaps the activation of his 21-day window to practice.
I bet the Bills are licking their chops to face the Texans
BIG MAN TD!
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2019
Dion Dawkins hauls in the @BuffaloBills touchdown to tie it up. #GoBills @DDawkins66
📺: #BUFvsNE on @NFLNetwork
Watch now on your 📱: https://t.co/tbGyM1cXB3
How to watch on any device: https://t.co/9oFWSFEujX pic.twitter.com/9ehc5D2TUc
The Bills can absolutely beat the Texans and likely should be favored when the two teams square off in the first weekend of January.
Buffalo brings a terrorizing defense that should smother a Texans passing attack which will be missing Will Fuller. Their offense is suspect, sure, but Josh Allen can exploit the Texans with the deep ball and the rushing attack can do enough. They have run the ball well too.
It is imperative for the Texans fan base's sanity for Houston to win this game. People will again question the whole operation with a loss, but a win would be a step in the right direction. It is the bare minimum for the Texans this year for the season to be considered even remotely a success.
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The Houston Texans travel to Minneapolis this Sunday to take on the Vikings, with both teams entering the matchup undefeated at 2-0.
CJ Stroud will be tested against a Vikings defense that specializes in disguising coverages pre-snap, and likes to blitz at a high rate.
Stroud tends to target Nico Collins when being blitzed (62% of Stroud's passing yardage), so don't be surprised if Vikings DC Brian Flores shows Collins some extra attention when bringing the pressure.
Which means this could be the week Tank Dell finally breaks out. Another thing working in Dell's favor is the amount of Cover 4 the Vikings are playing this season. Flores has used Cover 4 over 30% of the time this season, up about 10% compared to last year.
Dell has been Stroud's top target versus Cover 4 since the start of the 2023 season. Of course, the addition of Stefon Diggs could impact Dell's usage against that coverage moving forward.
One thing working for the Texans in this matchup is timing. The Vikings dominated the 49ers last Sunday, giving QB Brock Purdy fits. Per PFF, Purdy had three interception-worthy plays in the game, and none of them came when he was pressured.
It stands to reason that Stroud and OC Bobby Slowik will benefit from watching last week's tape to get some insight into how Flores will attack a Shanahan-style offense like the Texans run.
Texans on defense
QB Sam Darnold has played well in these first two games. And like the Texans offense, Houston's defense also has a lot in common with the 49ers'. Remember, Darnold played for the 49ers last season. He and Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell (Shanahan coaching tree) are very familiar with the 49ers' schemes on both offense and defense.
Superstar receiver Justin Jefferson will keep the Texans secondary busy, and don't be surprised if the Vikings are able to rack up yardage using screen passes to running back Aaron Jones. Jones had 5 catches last week against the Niners.
There were two big takeaways from the Vikings upset of the 49ers last week. First, the San Francisco staff was out-coached on both sides of the ball. Vikings receivers were open all afternoon, and even when the 49ers made plays on offense, they had to do it seemingly with defenders draped on them at all times.
Second, Darnold was able to escape pressure several times and pick up first downs with his legs. Something the Texans struggled with against Caleb Williams and the Bears in Week 2.
The other issue the Texnas defense will encounter is the surprisingly good play from the Vikings o-line. Through the first two games, the Vikings have the fourth-best graded o-line, according to PFF. Sacks could be hard to come by.
X-factors
Revenge could play a role in this game. Jonathan Greenard and Blake Cashman will both want to prove the Texans wrong for replacing them with Danielle Hunter and Azeez Al-Shaair, at least on some level. Hunter may want to prove a point against his former team as well.
And let's not forget Brian Flores sued the NFL (and added a claim against the Texans), claiming he didn't get the Texans job a couple of years ago because of his lawsuit.
What does Vegas think?
The Texans are favored by 2 points on the road, and the total for the game is 46.
Be sure to watch the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap gets you ready for Texans-Vikings!
And don't miss our postgame show live on the SportsMapTexans YouTube channel immediately following the game.