NEXT MAN UP
Houston Texans offense dealt a blow with unsettling update on key playmaker
Oct 9, 2024, 10:52 am
Nico Collins has been placed on IR (hamstring). Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images.
Nico Collins, the NFL's leading receiver, will miss at least four games after the Houston Texans placed him on injured reserve with a hamstring injury Wednesday.
Collins left Houston's 23-20 victory over the Bills on Sunday after scoring on a 67-yard reception late in the first quarter.
Coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday that he considered Collins week to week with the injury before the Texans made the move to shut him down for a month Wednesday.
Collins, who is in his fourth NFL season, has 32 receptions for an NFL-best 567 yards with three touchdowns. He and quarterback C.J. Stroud have carried the offense with running back Joe Mixon out for the past three games with an ankle injury.
With Collins out, the 4-1 Texans will look to Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell to carry more of the load as they play the first of two straight road games Sunday at New England.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Rockets hold off Bulls 117-114 behind Jalen Green’s 28 points
Mar 16, 2025, 12:58 pm
Emanuel Sharpe scored 26 points, LJ Cryer had 20 and second-ranked Houston stifled No. 17 BYU in a 74-54 victory Friday night that moved the Cougars into the Big 12 Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season.
Milos Uzan added 14 points and Mylik Wilson pulled down 13 rebounds, helping the tournament's top seed jump to a big early lead and roll into Saturday night's matchup with Arizona on a 12-game win streak.
Houston (29-4) played without J'Wan Roberts, its leading rebounder, after he sprained his ankle early in the second half of the Cougars' quarterfinal win over Colorado. Roberts watched from the bench with his right foot in a walking boot.
He got to watch quite a defensive show by one of the nation's best.
Houston forced BYU to miss its first nine shots, including seven from beyond the arc, where coach Kevin Young's team had set a Big 12 Tournament record with 18 made 3s on its way to 96 points in a quarterfinal win over Iowa State. That nearly seven-minute lull allowed Houston to roar to a 15-0 lead that it spent the rest of the game protecting.
BYU trimmed its 40-21 halftime deficit to 13 midway through the second half but never threatened to come all the way back.
Keba Keita had 14 points and 12 rebounds for BYU. Dawson Baker scored 11 points and Richie Saunders had 10.
Takeaways
BYU still has not won a conference tournament title since 2001 in the Mountain West.
Houston lived up to its billing as the nation's No. 1 team in defensive efficiency.
Key moment
Sharpe converted a four-point play with 13:40 left in the first half to give Houston its 15-0 lead.
Key stat
Houston has beaten BYU by an average of 25.5 points in their two games this season.
Up next
Houston will play the Wildcats for the Big 12 title.