Texans lose in OT to Kansas City. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
Here's what this insanely too early 2023 mock draft could mean for Davis Mills, Texans
The Houston Texans played hard again but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 30-24. Here are 11 observations from the game.
1. The team plays hard for head coach Lovie Smith. Smith said after the game his one-win football team doesn’t play like they have one win. He’s right. Back-to-back performances for the team against opponents who should have outclassed them.
2. Davis Mills showcased some of the abilities that had the franchise invest in him this offseason. He was quick with decisions at times and safely extended a few plays. It was an overall positive performance for Mills who hasn’t had a lot of those this season.
3. The fumble to basically end the game is an ugly ribbon on the day. The Texans needed just a field goal to win, and Davis Mills fumbled the ball away to the Chiefs. I suppose it was trying to do too much, but wasn’t the worst decision ever from a quarterback in Mills’ position. A sack likely means a Texans punt.
4. The Jeff Driskel experiment should be over. It was a surprising novelty last week, but it didn’t work this week.
5. The rushing Driskel experiment torpedoed a drive for the Texans. The team trailed by three and was in the red zone. Driskel hadn’t carried the ball on the drive, in fact, Royce Freeman was having the drive of his life. He’d been mauling defenders. Pep Hamilton inserted Driskel, who lost yards. The Texans would kick a field goal.
6. Where has Royce Freeman been? He was a breath of fresh air on the running back depth chart. He had the most consistent attempts of the day. He’s been with the organization for over a year and he’s just now getting an opportunity. Slightly annoying.
7. Lovie Smith trusted his defense at midfield on a fourth and one. He confirmed as much postgame. His defense allowed a 90+ yard Kansas City drive. His offense needed just one yard to keep a drive alive. Smith might have missed that one.
8. The Texans have no constant feel for their kicking game. Ka'imi Fairbairn has a 61-yard field goal in this stadium. They have passed on 54-yard attempts at home and let him kick 54-yard attempts on the road. Today, with eight seconds left, the Texans opted for a kneel down instead of giving their kicker a long attempt after one play.
9. The offensive line for the Texans kicked ass Sunday. It has been in a groove for the past few weeks. Laremy Tunsil should be an All-Pro. Tytus Howard bumped inside with injuries to the offensive line, and Charlie Heck played fine at right tackle. Good job by this unit.
10. The defense had some solid moments against Patrick Mahomes. They were very aggressive and made him pay for extending plays. Lovie Smith even dialed up a well-timed blitz or two. The Chiefs turned out to be too much, but it was a valiant effort.
11. The NFL is about wins and losses. The Texans have the fewest wins. The Texans have the most losses. The Texans are playing harder, but it is likely too little too late for this group. Frank Ross the special teams coach and his crew have an argument to stick around, but the rest don’t. It’s too little, too late for the current coaching staff.
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Winning consecutive series over last place teams does not mean all is well again in Astroworld, but taking five of seven games from the Orioles and Rockies stopped the bleeding which saw the Astros stumble through an awful 14-23 stretch. The regular season is now in its final month, the Astros are in the middle of three different playoff races. The high-end goal is finishing with one of the two best records in the American League to secure a bye past the two out of three lightning round Major League Baseball calls the Wild Card Series. Entering the holiday weekend the Astros sit four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, three and a half back of the Detroit Tigers. If the Astros can’t overtake either the Jays or Tigers, they at least want to hold off Seattle to win the American League West. Winning the division for an eighth consecutive full season would be its own accomplishment, for the postseason it would at least assure the Astros of homefield advantage in a best-of-three. The race the Astros hope to need to pay little attention to is holding off Kansas City for the final wild card spot. That would be necessary should the Astros lose out on the division title to the Mariners, and finish behind both the second and third place finishers in the AL East in the wild card race, presently the Red Sox and Yankees. The M’s, Bosox, and Yanks all finishing ahead of the Astros is a clear possibility. The good news on that front is the Astros holding a five game lead over the Royals with 28 games to go, though Kansas City does win the tiebreaker should it come to that. The Astros have a significantly easier closing schedule than do the Royals. The Astros have just six games left against teams that would currently qualify for the postseason. The Royals have 12. So to miss the playoffs entirely the Astros basically have to fold, and/or the Royals need to play four weeks of spectacular baseball.
Yordan Alvarez’s looooong awaited return is a big boost to the lineup. Even if he isn't peak Yordan, his presence matters. His missile of a home run to centerfield was the wow moment of his return series, but Alvarez drawing five walks in nine plate appearances speaks to what opponents think of him. Still, offense remains an Astro struggle all too often. The Rockies have the worst pitching staff in MLB. The Astros managed nine runs in three games against it. At least that was enough to win two out of three. 67 times this season the Astros have scored three or fewer runs, equaling their three or fewer total of the entire 2024 season. For a good while this year the Astros were winning an amazing percentage of their games where the offense did little. At one point the Astros were 19-27 when scoring three or fewer, which was stunning success and as I wrote at the time, wholly unsustainable. Since then, the Astros have lost 20 of the last 21 games in which they failed to score four.
Christian Walker’s power surge has been a boon, of late helping offset Jose Altuve’s slump (just 10 hits in his last 60 at bats heading into the Angels series) and Carlos Correa’s lack of thump (just two extra base hits and a sub-.700 OPS over his last 15 games). Over 46 games played from July 1 through Thursday, Walker has been very good hitting .279 with an .859 OPS. That doesn't undo his being wretched through June, but credit where credit is due.
Alvarez is the big bopper (remember the ex-Astro who had that nickname?) addition to Joe Espada's lineup cards, but Jake Meyers could be a lower key big return as well next week. To call Chas McCormick and Jacob Melton poor offensive players this season would be an understatement along the lines of saying Yao Ming is above average in height. When Meyers blew out his right calf it short-circuited what was his breakout big league season. Even if Meyers can't regain that form, by accident he'll still be better than what McCormick and Melton have provided.
After finishing up with the Angels on Labor Day, the Astros get the Yankees for three big games at Daikin Park starting Tuesday. Hunter Brown starting Sunday means he will not pitch against the Yankees. That's not a mistake, it's just how the rotation falls. It will be a mistake if the Astros' brain trust doesn't properly map out starting pitching ahead of the massive matchups against the Mariners September 19, 20, 21 and make sure both Brown and Framber Valdez start games in that series. After this homestand wraps, the Astro have only six home games remaining versus 15 on the road.
Oh yeah. Glenn Davis was "The Big Bopper."
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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