Signs the line is about to get right and Mercilus will stay hot off the edge

Could the offensive line be settling in for Texans?

Texans Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney

A little Texans six pack for you on this Friday. The Texans play the Falcons on Sunday at NRG stadium.

Do your eyes deceive you?

Lookie there! The Texans are 8th overall in the advanced metric. The stats don't match the eye test right now though.

The Texans are still 31st in QB Sacked Percentage according to TeamRankings.com.

Not every hit or sack is created equal, and it isn't like Watson gets crushed every time someone gets to him. But, they add up. He still takes too many hits. There are positives though and there is a chance this improves.

ESPN's stats have Tytus Howard as the second-best tackle in football in the above metric. They have guard Max Scharping fourth in the same metric. Greg Mancz will not be back at right guard with his concussion. Zach Fulton will be back at right guard.

Laremy Tunsil has been extremely solid at left tackle since the first game as well.

There is hope the Texans figure this offensive line situation out. Atlanta is a full sack worse per game than last year's team and last year's team was putrid in rushing the passer. If the Texans can't keep Watson upright against Atlanta they may never keep him clean.

October encore?

Whitney Mercilus just came off his best four-game stretch of his entire career. The closest thing to what he did in September is the end of 2015 where he had five and a half sacks but certainly not as many forced fumbles and no interception.

This is what people thought Jadeveon Clowney could do on a regular basis. Mercilus is playing the right position and he has worked almost everyone he has come up against. This week Jake Matthews is the opponent for Mercilus. The son of Oilers legend Bruce Matthews has been decent this season checking in about average on the season according to Pro Football Foucs. He's allowed two sacks and 10 total hurries.

Mercilus is fifth in the NFL with five sacks. He has the most pass rushing snaps from the right side of a defense. This could be a solid opportunity to keep his hot start going.

Texans to honor McNair

The man who brought football back to Houston will be honored at halftime of Sunday's game. Robert C. McNair will see his name up in the Ring of Honor next to Andre Johnson. McNair has thankfully been remembered much better than some of the things he made headlines for in his final year or so.

McNair's actions spoke louder than his words and his actions said he loved Houston and his football team. It wasn't always easy for fans to get along with his patience as an owner, but there is no doubt the city of Houston is a much better place thanks to McNair.

Keke Coutee's chance to shine

Just three catches on seven targets for 18 yards. Not ideal for a player who was ready to breakout after a stop and start season last year. Coutee hasn't quite found his groove with Deshaun Watson and the time missed could be factoring into the issues.

With Kenny Stills recovering from some leg injuries Coutee could take over some of the workload at wideout. If he got clicking, and then Stills returned, the offense would be incredible. It will be interesting to see how the Texans account for Stills' absence. He and Coutee are different players so there has to be some small adjustment at least if Stills can't go.

New old guy on the block

He might be 38 but Mike Adams has gotten better with age. In fact, his best seasons came after the age of 33. It is hard to determine exactly what his role will be as the team's top three safeties are all healthy right now. It is never a bad idea to bring in reinforcements when the Falcons, Chiefs, and T.Y. Hilton coming up the next three weeks.

And I was all like Julioooooo haha

The above video was awesome until you realize Malcolm Butler and the Titans defense shutdown Julio Jones and ended his touchdown streak. Alas, he is still a monster scoring 12 touchdowns in his last 13 games and totaling up 1,182 yards.

I have no idea how the Texans plan to slow down Julio Jones. He might be too fast for Johnathan Joseph and he might be too experienced for Lonnie Johnson. Not to mention, Mohamed Sanu and Calvin Ridley are dangerous as well. Oh, and Austin Hooper can crush from the tight end spot.

This will be one of the toughest games all season for the secondary. If Romeo Crennel can't scheme something up the Texans could find themselves needing to win a shootout on Sunday.

Oh and if you don't get the reference in the title click here.

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Can Stroud learn from the 49ers' mistakes? Composite Getty Image.

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.

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