Another week without Deshaun Watson, another game scoring less than 30 points. The Texans fell to the Los Angeles Rams 33-7 in what was a competitive game for most of the first half. Tom Savage picked a bad game to have a turnover party, and the defense could no longer keep the high-powered Rams offense out of the end zone.

The Good

-Good to see C.J. Fiedorowicz return from a concussion. His presence should help Savage the rest of the season, as well as aid in run blocking.

-DeAndre Hopkins had another good game. He had 7 catches on 14 targets for 111 yards. He’s now at 51 catches on 94 targets for 692 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season.

-Jadeveon Clowney blew several plays up in the backfield (mostly runs). He had 3 tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and a sack.

-Brennan Scarlett had 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss himself. In a season in which 2 of the top 3 pass rushers are out for the season, the time is now for guys like Scarlett to step up to the plate.

The Bad

-Aaron Donald started the game off on Texans’ first possession with a strip/sack/fumble of Savage. Rams recovered at the Texans’ 11 yard line. It was a sign of things to come.

-While Clowney had a good game, all of his most effective plays came in the first half. He’s been known to flash his brilliance from time to time, but in order to take the next step, he must learn to take over games from beginning to end, especially with favorable matchups.

-The run game was abysmal yet again. 25 total rushes for a measly 89 yards. While it showed flashes (Miller’s 21 yard scamper after stopping a fake punt attempt), it never provided the success other teams have had against the Rams.

The Ugly

-A timeout was wasted early in 2nd quarter on field goal attempt because they only had 10 players on the field. It would’ve made a 34 yard attempt a 39 yard attempt. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed anyway. He also missed a 39 yarder last week. Looks like he may have the yips after starting the season perfect.

-Savage ended the game with 4 turnovers: 2 lost fumbles and 2 interceptions. The first 3 turnovers, led to 13 points for the Rams; the last ended the game.

-3 sacks, 8 quarterback hits and 3.6 yards per carry are all on the offensive line. Sure a quarterback’s pocket presence or running back’s vision is also responsible for those numbers, but my eyes saw different. Bill O’Brien called for a ton of 3 steps drops in pass game today. Several times on those drops, Savage had someone in his grill. Also, run lanes either closed before they were run through, or they never opened in the first place.

At 3-6, the Texans have very long road ahead in the final 7 games. They have no 1st or 2nd round draft picks to fall back on for improvement, or tanking purposes. The only thing left to play for is pride. Pride in one’s self, organization, teammates, city, and fans. At some point pride has to spur them on to bigger and better things, right?