Signs of progress and remaining obstacles heading into Houston Texans bye week
Dec 3, 2024, 11:00 am
The Texans pass rush is living up to expectations! Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Joe Mixon ran the Houston Texans to another win Sunday to help them go into their bye on a high note.
Mixon bounced back from his worst performance of the season to rush for 101 yards and a touchdown to lead the Texans to a 23-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was just Houston’s second win in the past five games and helped the first-place Texans (8-5) remain two games up in the AFC South.
The game was tied at 6-6 in the third quarter when a 7-yard TD run by Mixon put the Texans on top for good. The Jaguars cut it to three late, but Mixon's 8-yard carry on third-and-4 allowed Houston to run out the clock for the win.
The performance came after he had a season-low 22 yards rushing in a loss to the Titans at home.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud said Mixon has been invaluable to not only the team, but to him personally in his first year in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati.
“He’s always telling me like: ‘bro, you got it. Just continue to just be you,’” Stroud said. “For me, it’s been great to have that, because at times you can be in your own head or whatever. But he’s always there to pick me back up. And a lot of the guys, too.”
He's the third player in NFL history with at least 100 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown in six road games in the same season. He joined Tiki Barber of the New York Giants (2004) and Derrick Henry of Tennessee (2020) in accomplishing the feat. Mixon is the first to reach the marks in his first six road games of a season.
Mixon, who ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game, leads the Texans with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns despite missing three games with an ankle injury.
His touchdown was one of two Houston scored after halftime Sunday. It was the first time the offense has scored more than one TD in the second half in five games.
What’s working
Entering Monday, the Texans lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss this season after adding three on Sunday and their 42 sacks rank second. Danielle Hunter is tied for third in the NFL with 15 tackles for loss this season and his 10½ sacks rank second.
Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, is having another strong year and his 13 tackles for loss and his 9½ sacks are both tied for seventh most in the league entering Monday.
What needs help
The Texans converted just 1 of 3 red zone opportunities Sunday. They had a first down at the 8-yard line in the second quarter and settled for a short field goal when their drive stalled after Stroud was sacked.
They failed to score a touchdown again late in the third quarter when they had a first down at the 16, but couldn’t move the ball after that and added another short field goal.
Stock up
TE Dalton Schultz had five receptions for 61 yards and his first touchdown of the season against the Jaguars. It was his second-most yards receiving this season as his production has dipped after he had 635 yards receiving and five touchdowns last season.
Stock down
LB Azeez Al-Shaair was ejected for a violent hit to the facemask of Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence that caused him to be carted off the field with a concussion. Lawrence scrambled on a second-and-7 play in the second quarter. He had started his slide before Al-Shaair raised his forearm and hit the defenseless quarterback.
The hit caused a sideline-clearing fight and another scuffle as he was being led off the field.
Coach DeMeco Ryans said that’s “not what we’re coaching” and that play is not representative of who Al-Shaair is. The sixth-year pro has been suspended for three games.
He apologized for the hit Monday in a post on X.
Injuries
Safety Eric Murray left Sunday’s game with a hand injury. … Schultz injured his right shoulder but returned.
Key number
10 — The Texans are tied for fourth in the NFL with a plus-10 turnover differential entering Monday.
Next steps
Ryans wants his team to focus on rest and recovery during the week off to prepare for a difficult stretch of three games in 10 days starting with a visit from Miami on Dec. 15.
“Right now, want our guys to just get away from it all and that’s the main thing and when we hit reset, we’ll hit reset and we’ll be ready to get back to it,” he said.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
As we wait to see where Alex Bregman will land this offseason, we are seeing some movement begin to take place when it comes to Scott Boras clients.
Blake Snell agreed to a 5-year, $182 million contract with the Dodgers recently, which sent shockwaves across baseball. Many are wondering if the price of poker has gone up, or if this is just the Dodgers overpaying because than can afford to do so.
However, this contract impacts the Astros on two levels. One, it's more money than the Astros have ever offered a player. And two, what this contract means for Framber Valdez, who is in the last year of his deal.
In Framber's case, there's no way the Astros are going to approach an offer of this size for Valdez. They reportedly haven't even offered Bregman a deal of this nature.
The 'Stros have reportedly offered Bregman 6-years, $156 million. About $44 million less than he's looking for. Which brings up a larger concern. The Astros contract offers never seem to adjust with inflation.
Just look at these reported offers and contracts the Astros have been tied to over the last several years.
Offer: Carlos Correa 5-years, $160 million. Rejected.
Contract with Toronto: George Springer, 6-years, $150 million.
Contract with Houston: Jose Altuve 7-years, $163.5 million.
Offer: Bregman 6-years, $156 million. Pending.
Contract with Houston: Yordan Alvarez 6-years, $115 million.
It's like negotiating in a land where time stands still. Everything seems to go up in price, except for contract offers from Jim Crane. To be fair, this tactic has worked well, but for how much longer?
If the Astros do miss out on Breggy, there are some reports connecting Houston to Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander. ESPN's David Schoenfield projects Santander to land a massive three-year, $69 million deal with Houston.
Seems like quite the bargain for a player with more offensive thump than Bregman.
On the pitching front, Nick Villano of FanSided predicts the Astros will sign former Guardians ace Shane Bieber, who is recovering from season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Considering the Astros already have several pitchers returning from injury, this move does not make a ton of sense.
Salary cap coming to MLB?
Because of the Dodgers' aggressive approach to free agency over the last few years, many are wondering if a salary cap will be necessary moving forward.
Be sure to watch the video above as we discuss the likelihood of a salary cap in baseball, if it would benefit the Astros, and weigh in on the Astros approach to free agency this offseason.