STOOTS ON TEXANS
11 observations from the Houston Texans' 16-9 loss to the Broncos
Sep 19, 2022, 8:53 am
Texans QB Davis Mills struggled in Denver. Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
The Houston Texans remain winless as they lose to the Broncos 16-9. Here are 11 observations from the game.
1. The Texans seemingly let another game get away from them. If the team had executed better and had a few fewer penalties, there is no doubt they would have had their first win of the season. For a team that lives in the margins, there were too many mistakes. Denver kept the Texans in the game, and the Texans kept taking themselves out of it.
2. Davis Mills played another poor game. The second-year quarterback made some bad decisions late with the football and missed too many plays he should make. Mills throws far too many uncompetitive balls. He needs to get better in tune with the pass catchers.
3. The Texans would be 2-0 with average quarterback play. The team has not gotten average quarterback play. Davis Mills must display the ability to fix mistakes on a week-to-week basis. He didn’t showcase that this week.
4. The success of Dameon Pierce makes last week tougher to stomach. It was impossible watching the rookie succeed and not think the team would have won against the Colts if he had played more.
5. Pep Hamilton makes some curious decisions when it comes to play calling. It isn’t out-and-out bad, but it isn’t good. There is a solid argument to be made he can only do so much with Davis Mills at quarterback.
6. Brandin Cooks can’t drop touchdown passes. The Texans will never be able to regularly overcome settling for kicks when they can score. The play after was not a great one as Davis Mills didn’t throw the ball quickly enough and Cooks couldn’t come down with the ball in the end zone.
7. Derek Stingley had a “welcome to the NFL” day working against Cortland Sutton and Russell Wilson. There were penalties and bad coverages and blown coverages. That’s ok. That’s cornerbacks. Stingley did have a nice pass defense on Sutton in the endzone. Not worried about the third overall pick.
8. The third down and 16 play will haunt the Texans' defense. It was a late-game moment the team can’t get wrong. It might be as simple as Derek Stingley was incorrect in assuming he had help but regardless that’s a play the team can’t give up and win.
9. The Texans got worn down by a ground attack again. The Broncos were having a ton of success and Houston is lucky there wasn’t more focus on running the ball by Denver. It looks a lot better early, but by late in the game, the Texans don’t have an answer. Several factors add up to that, including the offense not doing its job.
10. There is very little pass rush consistency. The Jerry Hughes performance last week appears to be an anomaly. The team needs to have some people win individually or generate some pressure.
11. Ultimately the Texans have not lost two times in two games like many expected the team to lose. The tough part is there seems to be a much lower level of ability than the optimistic supporters, like me, believed was present. It will be an uphill climb but getting back to Houston with a win and being 1-1-1 is an absolute necessity.
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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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