TEXANS OBSERVATIONS
The good, bad and ugly from Sunday's game against the Rams
Nov 12, 2017, 8:37 pm
Jadeveon Clowney had his moments in the first half. Houstontexans.com
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?
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The Texans make just their third ever visit to Lambeau Field Sunday. It’s a dandy matchup as the Texans try to run their record to 6-1 at the expense of the 4-2 Green Bay Packers. The Texans have one win and one loss in Wisconsin. In 2008 the gameday high temperature was 13 degrees. Kris Brown kicked a 40 yard field goal as time expired to give the Texans a 24-21 win over a Packers team that struggled to a 6-10 record under first-year starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Texans posted their second consecutive 8-8 finish that year. In 2016 the mercury reached a balmy high of 34 degrees as the Texans fell 21-13 at Lambeau. Inexplicably, Rodgers somehow managed to win the quarterback matchup with Brock Osweiler. The Texans and Packers each won their division that year. Both Texans’ trips to “America’s Dairyland” occurred in December. No risk of frozen tundra this time around. The forecast for Green Bay Sunday calls for a high of 75 degrees! That’s almost 20 degrees warmer than normal there for October 20.
It’s a dynamic QB matchup with C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love sharing the field. Love broke out in a huge way in 2023 after serving a two-year apprenticeship under Rodgers. After a stumbling 3-6 start to their season the Packers went 6-2 the rest of the way to snag a playoff spot. They obliterated the Cowboys in a Wild Card game in Arlington (before everyone obliterated the Cowboys in Arlington...) then led at the 49ers with under 90 seconds to go before San Francisco scored to win 24-21. The Packers made crystal clear their belief in Love by signing him to a four-year 220 million dollar contract extension in July. That’s 55 mil per season. Stroud becomes extension-eligible after next season. Anyone think he won’t be in position to command at least 65 mil per season?
Stroud sure looks to be the guy to finally give the Texans the long-term stability and excellence they have never had at the most important position in the sport. The Pack is all in on Love continuing its unreal long-term QB stability and excellence. Love took the reins after Rodgers helmed the offense for 15 seasons. Rodgers took the reins after Brett Favre’s 16-year tenure. So if Love makes it for nine years as the starter, that’s three primary QBs in 40 years. Absolutely amazing.
After missing two games because of a sprained knee ligament suffered in the final seconds of the Packers’ season opening loss to the Eagles in Brazil, Love has thrown 10 touchdown passes in three games. But he has only completed 59 percent of his passes, and has thrown at least one interception per game.
The Texans’ first trip to the NFC North this season went brutally badly, the 34-7 beatdown from Minnesota. The Vikings beat the Packers 31-29 in week four of the season. That was Love’s first game back, he threw four touchdown passes and three picks. One defensive weapon the Texans will have against the Pack they did not have against the Vikes is Denico Autry. The 34-year-old Autry returns from his six-game banned substance suspension. That happens as one of the fill-ins for him, Mario Edwards, starts his own four-game substance abuse suspension. That should be a net improvement for the Texans.
X-factors
The single biggest variable in swinging the outcome of football games is turnovers. So far this season the Packers have been a takeaway machine. Last season the Packers generated just 18 turnovers over their 17 regular season games, only six teams took the ball away less often. Through just six games this season the Packers already have 17 takeaways. No other NFL team has more than 13, the Texans have just seven. The Packers have produced exactly three turnovers in five of their six games, and got two in the other. Every defense preaches turnovers, so it’s not as if first-year Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has introduced radical concepts that are yielding magical results. But the results are what they are.
If the Texans take care of the ball, they have a terrific chance to win. Having Joe Mixon back aids the cause on two fronts. One, Mixon is obviously the Texans’ best running back. Two, Mixon last fumbled in 2021. The Texans probably best plan to score 25 or more points to win this one because the Packers figure to score a bit. In Love’s four starts the Pack has lit the scoreboard for 29, 29, 24, and 34 points. On the other hand, the Texans’ D has been pretty stout, allowing the third-fewest yards per game (Green Bay rates 18th). It’s a strength vs. strength battle. The Texans have allowed no opponent more than 313 yards in total offense. The Packers have amassed at least 378 yards in five of their six games, and managed 328 in their worst performance.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays: Click here to watch!