RAMS ROLL OVER HOUSTON
Defensive effort wears down in 33-7 Texans loss
Nov 12, 2017, 6:30 pm
Tom Savage had another rough day. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Anyone who thought this game was going to be a blowout wouldn't have been laughed at. The Rams came into the week with the No. 1 scoring offense, averaging 33 points a game and the Texans still had Tom Savage. There was a lot of concern that this game would be over before it even really began but the first half was a surprise. The Texans' defense was strong to start the game and their offense gave them little help. At halftime it looked like it could be a low scoring game. The Rams didn't let it end that way. They made big plays and ran away with the game 33-7.
The very first drive made Houston fans fear the worst as defensive tackle Aaron Donald got to Savage for a sack fumble that was recovered to the Texans 12-yard line.
It was the first possession by the Rams that Houston felt like there was hope. They forced a 3-and-out and a field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein to make the game 3-0. The offenses then traded punts twice and Savage was able to get something going.
He led them on a nine-play drive into the red zone where penalties by the Rams and a few mid-range throws put them in great position to tie the game. For the second week in a row, Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a makeable field goal.
The Rams took over on the 24 yard line and took only 6 plays to go 62 yards. Zuerlein made his second field goal and gave them a 6-0 lead. The big play on that drive for the Rams was a 43-yard screen pass from Jared Goff to Todd Gurley that set them up on the right side of the 50-yard line. The very next play was a 15-yard run by Gurley and it looked like the Texans' defense was falling apart. But they held again and it was time for them to get help from the offense.
They actually did. The Texans took over on their 25-yard line and marched 75 yards in 8 plays for a touchdown. Big passes for Savage included a 17-yarder to Stephen Anderson, an 18-yarder to DeAndre Hopkins, and the 26-yard pass to Bruce Ellington for the score. Unexpectedly the Texans led 7-6, with a defense that was holding the other team at bay.
The Rams must have sensed a momentum shift was needed if they were going to get back in the game. After their offense stalled again they attempted a trick play on 4th and 7. Their punter Johnny Hekker completed a pass to wide receiver Pharoh Cooper. A great open field tackle by safety Kurtis Drummond held the play to 6 yards and gave the ball back to the Texans offense at the Rams 38-yard line.
But Savage couldn't make anything happen. In 6 plays they made it to the 20-yard line where he threw an interception to linebacker Mark Barron. That led to a 2-minute drill by Jared Goff and another field goal sending Los Angeles into halftime with a 9-7 lead.
A slow start to the second half ended on the Rams second possession. Their 9-7 lead quickly grew to 16-7 when the third play of their second drive was a 94-yard pass from Goff to Robert Woods. For the Texans offense, that was too much. From then on they had to force plays and were not able to make anything happen.
Meanwhile; special teams--another area of weakness--allowed a 27-yard punt return that gave LA great field position and set them up for a three play touchdown. A loss of five on the first play was followed by completions of 24 and then 17 yards to Sammy Watkins, the second a touchdown. Now it was 23-7 Rams and there was no looking back.
One play later LA had the ball back. Linebacker Samson Ebukam sacked Savage and forced a fumble putting the ball at the Texans 12-yard line. One play after that the score was 30-7 on a pass from Goff to Woods, his second touchdown reception of the day and 14 points in 19 seconds for them.
The Texans were done after that. There are no 30 point plays in the NFL. The Rams just controlled the clock on their next possession, taking 6:26 seconds to finish with a field goal and 26 point lead with 7:38 left in the game. Meanwhile their defense was now in prevent mode and could wait for Savage to throw another interception, which he did.
For everyone who thought there was a slim chance the Texans could salvage anything the rest of the way, today was a wake up call. Sure, the Rams have a great offense but Savage turns the ball over too much. Today he threw two interceptions and fumbled twice. He was wildly inaccurate most of the day and held the ball too long. They managed only 89 yards on the ground and despite the one touchdown looked like they couldn't get it done.
There are still 7 games left in the season and each one of those is a chance for something good to go Houston's way. It will start next week at home against a Cardinals team that is equally having its struggles.
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
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Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
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