Texans Player of the Game

Another round of Hopkins vs. Ramsey goes to the Texans WR

Cody Stoots
Dec 30, 2018, 2:59 pm
Nick Sharara ESPN 97.5

With many of the Jaguars key offensive players taking the day off the Texans defense had a field-day. The offense looked great whenever the ball was headed to DeAndre Hopkins who drew the toughest assignment of the day, squaring off yet again with one of the best cornerbacks in the game in Jalen Ramsey.

Hopkins dominated today. With Ramsey shadowing him most of the game the Texans star amassed 12 catches for 147 yards. He hauled in one long pass for 43 yards down the sidelines with Ramsey in near lockstep with him.

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said they like to move Hopkins around a lot to make it hard for him to find. He gave credit to Ramsey and praised his mentality and approach to Hopkins and said he's aware fans love watching that matchup. He called Hopkins the ultimate professional.

Watson looked early and often for Hopkins. Screen passes early saw Hopkins shake loose and later Watson got rolling hitting his star wideout consistently in the middle of the field. Even with far less talent than he has ever played with at wideout Hopkins frequently was open for Watson to hit.

This will go down as Hopkins' best statistical season ever. He set career highs in receptions and yards. He also hauled in 11 touchdowns on the season. He has tied Andre Johnson's single season record for receptions as well.

"I think Andre was over there telling them not to throw it to me," Hopkins joked after the game. Johnson attended the post game press conference with Hopkins and said he was proud of Hopkins. He also said he would put Hopkins up against any wideout in football.

He did all of this with a rotating cast of wideouts playing with him and appearing almost every week on the injury report. He's the most dominant offensive players in Texans history and trails only J.J. Watt for displays of dominance in franchise history overall.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

A huge deal over three years has the Honey Badger on the move

Report: Texans lose Tyrann Mathieu to Chiefs

Honey badger is headed to Kansas City. Bob Levey/Getty Images

The Houston Texans and Tyrann Mathieu was a one year mutually beneficial relationship as he heads to Kansas City in free agency.

The Texans reportedly were ready to spend on the player known as Honey Badger but not nearly what he ended up with in Kansas City.

Mathieu signed a one-year deal with the Texans last offseason for $7 million. He would start all 16 games for the team manning the backed of the defense with Kareem Jackson, Justin Reid, and later Andre Hal.

The sixth-year safety rattled off 89 tackles good for third best on the team and tying his career high. He also had two interceptions to go along with a fumble recovery and three sacks as Mathieu was often used in the team's blitz packages. It was the first time Mathieu had more than one sack in a season.

The Texans frequently praised Mathieu for his locker room leadership as well.

"He's a guy that really meant a lot to our locker room," said Texans head coach Bill O'Brien at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I've said it time and time again, this guy came in and was there from the offseason program and then at the end of training camp was voted a team captain. I think that says a lot about the impact he had – not just as a player, he's a good football player, he's a smart football player, he's a versatile player – but also, what he meant leadership-wise in the locker room."

The departure of Mathieu leaves the Texans with Andre Hal and Justin Reid as the only safeties who have played significant snaps in the 2018 season.

Cody's Take

Deuces. His impact was overrated. With Justin Reid's emergence and Andre Hal still on the team paying a player who has likely shown his ceiling to the NFL what the Chiefs paid him wasn't good business for the Texans. They were priced out of their smartly set budget on Mathieu.

They should absolutely see what the number is for other safeties on the market. If Mathieu is worth $14 million a year then Earl Thomas is worth more than that. Adrian Amos, who is 25 a free agent after playing a ton for the Bears, is a name I would love to see the Texans chase. Bringing back Kareem Jackson and playing him only at safety isn't the worst idea ever. Jackson was one of the best players on the Texans when he was playing safety last year.

UPDATE: Kareem Jackson has signed with the Broncos.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome