CHIEFS RAN AWAY WITH THE VICTORY
Chiefs rookie put Texans run defense on notice in season opener
Sep 11, 2020, 9:12 am
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
For the Houston Texans, the 2020 season started just like 2019 ended — with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. But this time around, the Texans surrendered a seven-point lead thanks to a stellar debut from a rookie running back. In fact, there were a lot of factors that played into the Texans' 34-20 defeat at Arrowhead Stadium Thursday night.
Houston's offensive line could not handle the defensive pressure that resulted in Deshaun Watson taking four sacks. Speaking of Watson, the two-time Pro-Bowler threw for 253 yards — 42 more yards than Patrick Mahomes — but his 52.6 QBR proved his night was near pointless.
Houston's entire receiving corps was a no-show except for Will Fuller — who finished the night with 112 receiving yards on just eight catches. Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb and Kenny Stills ended the game with a combined 51 yards with just five catches.
Houston's secondary still could not handle the Chiefs' receivers, as the Texans gave up 211 yards on 24 receptions. And Ka'imi Fairbairn's missed field goal might've taken the Texans out of their offensive rhythm right before the half. But with all the bad, it would be their inability to stop the run that became the Texans' most significant destruction.
"We did not play well enough to win," J.J. Watt said after the loss to the Chiefs. "We have to stop the run a lot better to put ourselves in situations to get off the field on 3rd downs. We can't give up 17 play drives. And we have to get off the field. We have to create takeaways, and we did not do that. Give them credit. Obviously, they are a great football team, but those are the things we have to do."
Mahomes summarized it best during his post-game press conference when he described Clyde Edwards-Helaire as "another weapon" he has in the Chiefs offense. Edwards-Helaire, who was drafted with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, became the fourth tailback over the last 30 seasons to record at least 130 rushing yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut, per ESPN Stats & Info. Edwards-Helaire's night: 138 rushing yards (5.5 AVG) on 25 attempts and one touchdown.
Texans can’t tackle Clyde Edwards-Helaire 😱 (via @thecheckdown) https://t.co/lxkZxua6uC— Bleacher Report (@Bleacher Report) 1599794336.0
The majority of his success came with the 21-year-old running back showcasing his jump-cutting ability and his skill-set to run over defenders that left Houston's defense in a snafu state all game.
With the score knotted at seven points apiece, Kansas City called Edwards-Helaire's number six times midway through the second quarter. In that same time frame, the Texans allowed the Chiefs to record 94 yards in 16 plays and take 9:04 off the game-clock. The drive ended with Sammy Watkins receiving a two-yard pass from Mahomes to take a 14-7 lead, but Edwards-Helaire notched 40 yards during the drive.
The performance by the LSU prodigy overshadowed what was a solid debut from Texans' running back, David Johnson. The sixth-year veteran was the only encouraging spot on both sides of the ball for Houston. Johnson notched a total of 109 yards, with 77 coming on the ground. His 19-yard touchdown run to put the Texans ahead 7-0 was his longest rushing TD since 2016.
"Hard runner, great vision, going to play until the final whistle," Watson said. "It's about finding a new rhythm of a new offense. He [Johnson] did a good job of making plays and running the ball."
Head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien added: "I thought he played well. He's a good player, and he did a lot of things we can build on. He ran the ball and caught passes out of the backfield. There is a lot to build on there."
It's one game. In fact, this was the opening to an anomaly of a season that did not have a four-week dress rehearsal before the opening kick-off. With a doubt, the Texans will make some improvements and get better as they prepare for their home opener next Sunday at NRG Stadium.
But giving up a total of 166 rushing yards led by a rookie is enough to cause for immense concern — especially when your next opponent is against reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.