COMING OUT ON TOP
The good, bad and ugly from the Texans' 31-21 win over Arizona
Nov 19, 2017, 3:51 pm
Jadeveon Clowney played like a superstar. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans’ up and down season continued with a 31-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals at NRG Stadium. Now 4-6 on the season, the Texans aren’t completely out of the hunt for a playoff spot, but it’ll truly be an uphill battle.
The Good
-Bruce Ellington took advantage of the opportunity of more playing time in the absence of Will Fuller. He had 6 catches for 63 yards and some key third down conversions.
-DeAndre Hopkins leads the league in touchdown receptions with 9. While only twp have come from Tom Savage, they looked to have found some chemistry against the Cardinals.
-The run defense was stellar. They held the Cardinals to just 45 yards and a 2.8 per carry average. Benardrick McKinney amd Jadeveon Clowney both had 2 tackles for loss each. Their best play came on a 4th and 1 from Cardinals 34 yard line where they dropped Adrian Peterson for a loss.
-D’Onta Foreman got some consistent carries. He responded by going for 65 yards and 2 touchdowns on 10 carries.
The Bad
-No way Blaine Gabbert should have had a career day throwing 3 touchdown passes. The pass defense continues to disappoint as the coverage and pass rush just isn’t cutting the mustard.
-Savage’s ball security is alarming. He had another strip/sack/fumble today. Granted, it was due to a nickelback blitz coming against the awful right tackle Breno Giacomini, but he’s got to do better protecting the football.
-Kevin Johnson went out of the game and will be in concussion protocol. Johnson may not be a top notch cover guy, but he does an adequate job. His biggest contribution may be his hitting, which apparently may have caused his concussion. This is just another in a seemingly laundry list of injuries for the Texans this season.
The Ugly
-Giacomini’s pass blocking at right tackle has been abysmal. He’s a clear sign of what happens when you wait until late in free agency to address a deficiency and there’s nothing but two day old bread left in the bakery.
-Jonathan Joseph has seen his best days of being a reliable cover guy pass him by. He routinely has been getting beat lately. The worst play came against rookie tight end Ricky Seals-Jones. Seals-Jones had about an 8-10 yard cushion on a simple 11 yard out route touchdown catch. We’re talking about a rookie versus a respected veteran.
-Foreman had his breakout performance as a rookie, but his season may be over. On his second touchdown run, he went to the ground not too long after crossing the goal line. Looks like it may be an ankle or lower leg injury. Any time the cart is brought out, it typically means trouble.
On the day the Texans induct Andre Johnson into the Ring of Honor, they also managed to keep their season alive. Getting contributions from guys like Ellington, Foreman, as well as usual suspects Clowney, McKinney, and Hopkins, this was a good win against a beatable opponent at home in front of a crowd that may have come mainly for the halftime festivities. The season may be on life support, and the pastor is still at the hospital to pray with the family expecting the worst, but there’s a glimmer of hope.
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The Texas Longhorns still believe in quarterback Quinn Ewers despite two poor games from the third-year starter who was briefly benched in last week's loss to No. 1 Georgia, coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday.
Ewers struggled through one of his worst career games against the Bulldogs, completing 25 of 43 passes for 211 yards with an interception and two fumbles. He was 6-of-12 passing for 17 yards on the Longhorns' first six drives, and was replaced by Arch Manning in the second quarter as Georgia took a 23-0 lead into halftime.
Ewers returned in the third quarter and led two touchdown drives. But the overall performance in one of the biggest games of the season was well below what was expected from a veteran quarterback who some predict as a potential first round NFL draft pick.
Texas never led against the Bulldogs and Ewers looked rattled.
Sarkisian has insisted that Ewers remains the No. 1 quarterback going forward.
“We have confidence and belief in him,” Sarkisian said. “I think he's going to come out and play really good football for us here in the second half of the season.”
Texas (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) plays at No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1) on Saturday.
Ewers did not meet with reporters on Monday.
He had performed at his best in some of Texas' biggest games the previous two seasons. He was considered a likely Heisman Trophy contender after the Longhorns won at defending national champion Michigan in week two.
But he was sidelined by an abdomen strain in the first half a week later against UTSA, and the injury knocked him out of the next two games. He returned for Texas' 34-3 win over Oklahoma, but had just 199 yards and one touchdown passing and said he needed to play better.
Against Georgia, Ewers appeared hesitant against a fierce Bulldogs pass rush and missed several throws. The Bulldogs recorded seven sacks and Texas never led.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was arguably having an even worse game. He was 23-of-41 passing for 175 yards and three interceptions.
But after Texas cut the Georgia lead to 23-15, Beck answered by leading the Bulldogs on an 11-play, 89-yard drive to the final touchdown of the game.
“I think Quinn definitely can play better. We've got to continue to work on his pocket presence,” Sarkisian said. “But I also think we need to play better around him. You know, our offense isn't about one player playing well.”
Texas rushed for just 29 yards and and managed only 259 total yards of offense against Georgia.
Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. said the Longhorns will rally behind Ewers.
“We're always going to trust Quinn. We're always going to believe in Quinn,” Banks said.