NUMBER CRUNCHING

Beyond results, numbers tell a fascinating story to otherwise unpredictable Houston Texans season

Beyond results, numbers tell a fascinating story to otherwise unpredictable Houston Texans season
The Texans hope to bounce back against the Bears this Sunday. Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images.

The Texans are off to a rocky start of what was s’posed to be their year of redemption, resurrection and return to respectability. At least that was the hope.

They had finally escaped the ugly Deshaun Watson spotlight. They hired a head coach with experience, who’s liked by his players and isn’t in over his head. They returned to the world of first-round draft picks. Their promising young quarterback was returning with a year under his belt. They even lowered the price of beer and hot dogs to lure fans back to NRG Stadium.

Vegas had them making progress, setting their over/under for wins at 4.5, a baby step forward from consecutive four-win seasons.

They went 3-0 in preseason. Yeah, it was all looking up.

But now, after only two games – and one of them wasn’t even a loss – it looks like some of the fan base and all of the media is pushing the panic button.

The season started with a 20-20 tie at home against Indianapolis. The Colts were favored by 8 points. Not a loss, certainly not a loss for Texans fans betting on the locals. But a game the Texans clearly should have won. Especially after realizing the Colts were shellacked by the Jacksonville Jaguars the following week.

Then it was off to Denver as 10-point dogs and a troubling 16-9 loss with the Texans failing to score a touchdown. Another game the Texans should have won. Denver was horrible, mismanaging timeouts, double-digit dumb penalties and apparently forgetting there is a play clock in the NFL. It got so bad that the crowd began counting down the seconds before another penalty flag flew. The Mean Machine from The Longest Yard was a more disciplined football team than Denver last Sunday.

Still, not time to push the panic button. Not yet. But if the Texans lose to the Chicago Bears, another game they should win this Sunday … it might be time to pack up the 2022 season. Sunday is must win because the Texans’ schedule hits a rough slate after that, with the Chargers at home, on the road against the Jags and back home for the Titans and Eagles.

There is a bright side to this malaise. The Texans are 2-0 against the spread, so they’ve performed better than the Vegas wiseguys predicted.

The Texans play in the AFC South, where only one team has so much as a win so far. The bad news is, that one team is Jacksonville, which was forecast as doable wins for the Texans, but maybe not so much after their shutout destruction of the Colts last Sunday.

Quarterback Davis Mills, so full of promise, has been a disappointment. For a quarterback with a reputation for throwing accurate balls, he’s playing like a nervous rookie. He’s the 29th-rated passer in the NFL. There are only 32 teams. Silver lining – Bears quarterback Justin Fields is No. 30.

The more troublesome thing about Mills, he’s not exactly a Fearless Leader on the field. He is a quiet, thoughtful, shy type. That’d be fine if he was dating your sister, but the Texans need a firebrand. You take one look at Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady and you see a maniac who’s obsessed with winning. Not saying that Mills isn’t driven to win, but it wouldn’t hurt to show it. Get in a receiver’s face, throw your helmet on the sidelines, smash a Microsoft Surface tablet.

To be fair, Mills is in perfect step with the Texans personality. The Texans are, let’s put it this way, not exactly an exciting glamour team. Last week, CBS offered the Texans-Denver game to all 20 TV markets in Texas. Only one – Houston - aired the game. Every other market went with the Cowboys-Bengals game.

Unless this season turns around, starting with a win Sunday over the Bears, the big winner for the Texans losing will be Alabama quarterback, Bryce Young. The Texans would be in line to draft him with an early pick. He’s fiery, thoroughly entertaining, a Heisman Trophy guy, electric and makes one hell of a commercial. His spot for Dr. Pepper is hilarious. He’d light up this city.

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The Texans will look to get back on track this Sunday against the Colts. Composite Getty Image.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”

The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.

They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.

Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.

Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.

“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”

Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.

What's working

The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.

Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.

What needs help

The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.

Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.

Stock up

RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.

Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.

“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”

Stock down

Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.

Injuries

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.

Key number

3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.

Next steps

The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.

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