How Texans face uphill battle after big losses before pivotal Chiefs matchup

How Texans face uphill battle after big losses before pivotal Chiefs matchup
The Texans are down two playmakers. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

It's no secret that the Texans' offense hasn't been the same since Stefon Diggs went down with an ACL injury midseason. To make matters even worse, Houston lost Tank Dell for the year, suffering a catastrophic knee injury against the Chiefs just a few weeks ago.

In an attempt to replace that production, the Texans took a flier on the talented and temperamental Diontae Johnson, who has worn out his welcome with now four NFL teams.

That's right. Aaron Wilson is reporting that the Texans have cut Johnson and elevated Jared Wayne from the practice squad.

This move is disappointing on so many levels. Houston desperately needs a playmaker to pair with Nico Collins, that's why they took a chance on the disgruntled receiver to begin with.

And while it's fair to blame Johnson for displaying displeasure about his role in a playoff game in which his team won, there are two sides to every story.

I certainly don't put this on the Texans. Johnson has proven many times to be a bad teammate, and who wants to deal with that during a playoff push?

But the Texans did only target Johnson one time in the game, which he caught and led to a field goal. While receiver John Metchie got most of the playing time despite losing a fumble on the first offensive possession of the game, costing the Texans three points.

Metchie almost had another fumble shortly after the first one, but luckily the refs ruled an incomplete pass on the play. My guess is Johnson correctly thought he was a better option than Metchie, who hasn't done anything of significance at this point in his NFL career, and was playing like the moment was too big for him.

As Metchie was making mistakes, I found myself looking for Diontae on the field and wondering why he wasn't getting more opportunities with Metchie looking like a disaster.

What's even more concerning was Nico Collins not receiving a target until the second quarter, but that's a story for another day.

As we look back at the stat sheet, Johnson was only on the field for 16 snaps, by far the fewest of Texans receivers. Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson played a much bigger role than he did.

If the Texans could do things over, planning to get the ball to Collins and Johnson early could have gotten the offense rolling, instead of waiting for the broken play that sparked CJ Stroud and the offense in the second quarter.

But instead, the former Pro Bowler had almost no role in the game, complained about it following a huge win, and is now off the team.

He could have been a very valuable asset against the Chiefs, who will likely take away Collins, forcing Stroud to go to his other options. Now, those options will be players that couldn't crack the starting lineup on any decent team.

Plus, tight end Cade Stover broke his collarbone against the Chargers, and has been placed on IR. It might not seem like a big deal losing Stover, after all, he hasn't been a very big piece of the offense this year.

But he hauled in four passes against the Chargers, the second-most on the team, tied with Metchie. Which also shows you how much Houston needs help at receiver.

At the end of the day, the friction with Johnson probably couldn't have been avoided. It's hard to get newly acquired players comfortable with a new offense and quarterback. Especially if he has an attitude.

But the Texans did know his frustration with the Ravens was all about his role, or lack there of. One can't help but wonder what might have been had the Texans decided to get him the ball early, to try to get some buy-in from a talented player they desperately needed.

There's a reason Jared Wayne (who collided with Dell in KC, ending his season) is being added from the practice squad, and Johnson is a former Pro Bowler.

And kudos to Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans for taking a chance on Johnson. Often, this franchise has avoided rolling the dice on a volatile player.

They gave it a shot, it didn't work, and they cut him. It was a low risk move worth trying that didn't pay off. And for Johnson, good luck finding another team.

This dude clearly prioritizes complaining over winning football games. Have fun explaining your antics to other teams when trying to get a contract next season. If you can't play for John Harbaugh or DeMeco Ryans, that says a lot about the player.

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The Chiefs host the Texans this Saturday. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Texans were trailing 6-0 and facing third-and-16 from their 17 late in the first half of their wild-card playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers when quarterback C.J. Stroud fumbled the snap.

The play looked to be heading for disaster. But instead, Stroud grabbed the ball and evaded the rush to find Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard gain.

The Texans went on to score a touchdown on that drive as the first of 23 straight points as they rallied for a 32-12 win.

They’ve advanced to the divisional round for a second straight season where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.

Coach DeMeco Ryans called Stroud salvaging that play the play of the game and raved about his second-year quarterback.

“That’s what it looks like when your best players step up and make the plays,” Ryans said. “That’s what playoff football is about. That’s what being a big-time player in the league is about.”

Even after he made the play, Stroud was unhappy because he fumbled the snap. But he felt much better when he looked to his sideline after the throw.

“And everybody was turned up, and that turned me up, because I was still kind of mad at myself,” he said. “Those are the type of plays that change momentum, and a team can rally around plays like that.”

Stroud threw for 282 yards with a touchdown pass to Nico Collins and an interception. He joined Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, the New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez, Seattle’s Russell Wilson and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy as quarterbacks to win playoff starts in each of their first two seasons.

Stroud also ran for 42 yards, highlighted by a career-long 27-yard run to help set up a field goal that put the Texans up 10-6 at halftime.

Stroud, who is not known for his scrambling ability joked about his “slow speed.”

He said the long run energized him.

“I felt my joy coming back after I got up, and it’s just one the best feelings in the world,” he said. “After you make a play, you’re just turned up and your teammates are turned up with you. That’s one of the best feelings in the world. I think that gave our team juice. I think me using my legs is definitely going to be helpful this postseason.”

Ryans was thrilled to see Stroud doing whatever he had to do to lift his team to the victory.

“That’s what you call (putting) the team on your back,” he said.

What’s working

The Texans intercepted Justin Herbert a career-high four times after he had thrown just three interceptions all season. All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley had two picks and Eric Murray returned one 38 yards for a touchdown. Rookie Kamari Lassiter had the other interception to join J.J. Watt as the only rookies in franchise history to have an interception in a playoff game.

Houston’s four interceptions are a franchise record for a playoff game and Murray’s interception return for a score was the fourth in the postseason in team history.

What needs help

For the Texans to have a chance against the Chiefs, they’ll have to take better care of the ball after committing three turnovers Saturday.

John Metchie fumbled after a catch on Houston’s first offensive play. Stroud threw an interception in the second quarter and Joe Mixon lost a fumble early in the third quarter.

Stock up

CB D’Angelo Ross was a special teams star Saturday. He blocked a punt in the first quarter before returning a blocked extra point for two points in the fourth.

The blocked punt was the first in a playoff game since the 2021 season and the PAT return was the first in NFL playoff history.

Stock down

LG Tytus Howard gave up a sack and had two penalties Saturday.

Injuries

The Texans didn’t have any injuries in Saturday’s game.

Key number

168 — Houston’s 168 yards rushing Saturday were the second most in a playoff game in franchise history behind the 188 the team gained in its first-ever postseason game in 2012. Mixon led the way with 106 yards for his eighth 100-yard game this season.

Up next

The Texans play in the divisional round for the sixth time in franchise history where a win will earn them their first trip to the AFC championship game.

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