How Houston Texans can exploit clear advantage over suffocating Saints

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The Houston Texans are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, and things won't get easier with the New Orleans Saints and their tenacious defense coming to NRG.

While the Saints have the advantage on defense – ranking 4th in points and yards allowed – the Texans have the edge on offense with CJ Stroud 3rd in the NFL in passing yards.

Saints QB Derek Carr may not strike fear in the hearts of Texans fans, but he does have an assortment of weapons to distribute the ball to with Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and running back Alvin Kamara.

For the Texans, WR Tank Dell is currently in the concussion protocol, so it's unlikely he'll be available this week, as most players this season have not returned from a concussion the following game.

The Texans will once again look to get their ground game going this week, and hopefully the team will see a boost from Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard in their second week back in action from injury. The offense needs Nico Collins to have another big game catching passes from Stroud, after a quiet performance against Atlanta.

The Saints are currently 2.5 point favorites on the road, which seems about right in this matchup. We believe this will be a low scoring game in which the Texans could be challenged to score points.

Be sure to watch the video above for our early preview and predictions for the game.

Watch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) on our SportsMap Texans YouTube channel every Monday.



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How Texans' CJ Stroud got the last laugh on Panthers entire organization

When Bryce Young and CJ Stroud were drafted with the first two picks of the NFL Draft, we knew they would be compared to one another for years to come.

And here we are just 11 games into the season and one quarterback has already seen his head coach fired. Panthers owner David Tepper spoke to the media on Wednesday and discussed his decision to fire Frank Reich, and also set the record straight on how they arrived at the decision to draft Young.

In so many words, Tepper basically blamed the Texans for how the top of the draft played out. He mentioned Stroud by name and said the Panthers were ready to draft him at No. 2 overall until the Texans backed out of the three-team trade with the Bears.

Tepper made a point of saying everyone in their building had Bryce Young as the top player on their draft board, despite rumors about Frank Reich preferring Stroud.

CJ Stroud and the Texans have been so much better than Bryce Young and the Panthers that Tepper clearly felt it was necessary to defend himself, and the decisions he's made for the organization.

In the end, the person that gets the worst end of the deal is Bryce Young. Coaching changes can be very difficult on young quarterbacks. And it looks like he'll have to learn a new offense in his second year when the Panthers hire a new coaching staff.

How fortunate we are as Texans fans to have DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud leading the team moving forward.

With all of this in mind, is there a reason Texans fans haven't fully bought in to the new-look Texans? JJ Watt was a guest on The Pat McAfee Show this week and was asked about the team's inability to fill the stadium on Sundays.

As a former player for the Colts, McAfee always thought Houston had the loudest and best fans in the NFL. And while the Texans are 9th in attendance this year according to ESPN, even CJ Stroud has asked for the fans to fill the stadium.

So there is something to it. You can see the empty seats in photos. So why aren't the Texans packing NRG with a shiny new franchise QB?

We believe the recent history of the team is why fans are slowly coming back. McAfee wasn't here for:

Bill O'Brien cussing at fans during games

Trading DeAndre Hopkins away for next to nothing

The Jack Easterby disaster

Deshaun Watson allegedly blaming ownership for why he wanted out

The Deshaun Watson scandal

Firing back-to-back coaches after one season, and the list goes on.

Don't miss the video above for the full conversation!

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