GAME OBSERVATIONS
The good, bad and ugly from the Texans OT win over the Cowboys
Oct 8, 2018, 1:50 am
Ka'imi Fairbairn (left) gets some love from J.J. Watt after Sunday night's game. Bob Levey/Getty Images
The Texans got a hard-fought 19-16 overtime victory over the team that resides up 45 North. Both teams are now 2-3, but only one of them looks as if it is ready for a playoff run. Let’s take a look as how I saw it play out:
The Good
-Deshaun Watson had a good game. He went 31 for 42 with 314 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 10 times for 40 yards. Watson seems to be in a much better rhythm.
-DeAndre Hopkins made the play of the game with a 49-yard catch in overtime. He made three Cowboy defenders miss tackles en route to putting the Texans in position for Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 36-yard game-winning field goal. His patented one-handed handling of the ball even on that play is frustrating, but more on that later.
-Bill O’Brien’s decision to go for the touchdown on fourth down a few seconds before halftime was the right move. Sure it took points off the board if you assume the field goal would have been made, but up 10-6 and getting the ball back after the half at home on Sunday Night Football against an intra-state rival, I would have gone for it as well. But…
The Bad
-…the play called on the fourth down was ridiculous. Mere feet away at the goal line is time for big boy football. Line up and run the ball down their throats or mash them in the face.
-Hopkins had a fumble on the Texans’ first possession of the second half which exacerbated not getting points before halftime. His loosey goosey carrying of the football caught up with him as it was easily punched out. Mishandling of the ball by showing off your hand size/strength is stupid.
-Overtime two weeks in a row, partly due to poor effort and coaching decisions isn’t an ideal way to get to 2-3. Hell, 2-3 isn’t impressive either. Especially when you factor in the offensive play calling that didn’t change until last week’s win against the Colts.
The Ugly
-Offensive line play continues to be an issue. Watson got hit way too much for my liking. Sure, some of his hits are avoidable, but the hit that caused him to throw the pick at the end of the fourth quarter was due to not being able to handle the blitz on the right side by Jaylon Smith.
-Speaking of that pick, it was another bad decision Watson made under duress. He also missed the underneath option on a failed potential red zone touchdown throw again. As much of a reputation as he’s gotten for being so calm, he’s often made poor decisions when pressured. That play could’ve ended the game if it was returned any better.
-The run game continues to struggle. A paltry 88 yards on 31 carries with almost half of that coming from your quarterback is pitiful. This team led the league in rushing after the first three games and has fallen flat in its last two.
A win is a win in the NFL. But some wins feel like loss, just like last week, this feel like a loss. The Texans played good enough to win, but you can’t expect a team to keep this up. Barely scraping by is no way to portray a commitment to winning. This organization can’t keep settling for mediocrity. The fan base will only hold for so long. Eventually, they’ll turn on the team and ownership will only have themselves to blame. Here’s to hope, which seems to be enough for Texans’ fans right now.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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